390 euros instead of 30 euros for parking

1. 24 RHINE
2. Cologne

Created: 05/14/2023, 08:08 am

From: Johanna Werning

Parking in Cologne will be more expensive. Instead of 30 euros, a resident parking permit costs up to 390 euros. But who has to pay how much? Summary.

Cologne – A swear word here, a big cry there – the difficult search for a parking space in Cologne is often pure stress. The so-called resident parking permit provides a solution for many people in Cologne. But parking fees in Cologne will become more expensive in just a few months. Instead of 8 cents per day, parking for residents will soon cost up to 1.07 euros per day. That is 390 euros per year.

390 euros instead of 30 euros: This is what the new resident parking in Cologne should look like.

Parking fees for residents in Cologne have not increased since 1993. However, that will probably change from January 2024, as the city of Cologne explains. The expected innovations and origins will be presented on Thursday by the city councilor for mobility, Ascan Egerer, head of the office for sustainable development of mobility, Thorsten Siggelkow, and head of the department of “Integrated Mobility Planning” in the office for sustainable mobility. development, Christian Dörkes.

New fees: higher. Instead of 30.70, resident parking permit fees in the future will be up to 390 euros per year. The card costs the same in all 47 zones in the nine city districts – regardless of whether it is in Cologne-Chorweiler, Cologne-Porz or central Cologne. A distinction is made between vehicle types. In concrete terms: the longer the car, the more expensive it is to park. “This is a very important sign to show that larger vehicles are a problem,” explains Mobility Councilor Egerer. After all, parking space in Cologne is limited. However, people with disabilities or KölnPass holders receive a discount:

• People with a disability level of at least 50 percent and the “G” factor as well as the owners of a parking permit for special groups of people with severe disabilities (“orange parking permit”) according to § 46 Para 1 No. 11 StVO (exemption and permission) get 80 percent discount.
• For KölnPass holders, there is a fee reduction of 75 percent of the relevant fee amount for the corresponding vehicle size.

Resident parking in Cologne is getting more and more expensive: fee overview

Therefore, parking for people with severe disabilities and a car that is shorter than 4.10 meters is easier. Resident parking is more expensive for Cologne residents who have a car that is between 4.71 meters and 5.60 meters long. For vehicles that are over 5.60 meters in length, there will be no option at all to park in resident parking areas. For example, the Rolls-Royce Phantom with a length of 5.72 meters is very large.

However, there are special rules: for mobile homes, for example. However, this is only possible if it is a one-owner vehicle. If the convoy is the second vehicle, special control is not possible.

Residents’ parking in Cologne is getting more and more expensive: the city gets 15 million euros

On the one hand, the city of Cologne expects additional income from higher fees. According to the city, around 15 million euros per year. “The money obtained will be used for measures to promote sustainable mobility and to co-finance the expansion of alternative forms of mobility,” according to the city administration.

Another interesting fact, according to Egerer: Many Cologne residents find indoor parking too expensive and are looking for alternatives such as a private parking space or even ditching their car and switching to public transport and bicycles. As of December 31, 2022, 61,020 resident parking permits were in circulation. In the future, it may be only 42,700 IDs issued. Unfortunately, there are currently around 40,000 parking spaces for residents in Cologne.

Residents’ parking in Cologne is getting more expensive: FDP talks about “robbering drivers”

But the high fee also causes a lot of criticism. “The council union wants to stop drivers. The resident parking fee of 390 euros is clearly too high,” says Ralph Sterck, chairman of the FDP council group. The SPD sees it the same way. “The city administration and the coalition of councils put the horse before themselves when they first raise the fee. at the same time without showing an alternative to those citizens who currently depend on the car,” says Lukas Lorenz, the SPD’s transport policy spokesman.

The FDP also insists that the increase must be gradual. “Vienna is a good example here. But the bus and train network there was only expanded before drivers were asked to pay.” The new interest group “IG Children, Youth and Family in the City of Cologne eV” sees the same: “The victims are from January 2024 especially families and low-income people who depend on a car. It creates a huge additional burden.”(jw) Fair and independent information about what’s going on in Cologne and NRW – subscribe to our free newsletter 24RHEIN here.