Göttingen: From September, strict rules for sidewalk parking in the Südstadt!

Göttingen: From September, strict rules for sidewalk parking in the Südstadt!

In the heart of Göttingen, a new era of the sidewalk parking will be heralded from September 1, 2025. The city administration has launched a model project that will begin in the lower south town. So far, parking has been tolerated on sidewalks as long as a wide passage of at least one meter remained. However, a judgment of the Federal Administrative Court from 2024 brought a fresh wind into the regulations. It forces the municipalities to handle the sidewalk parking more strictly in order to take into account the needs of pedestrians and especially people with mobility restrictions, such as Göttinger Tageblatt reported.

The planned model district extends between the Bürgerstrasse in the north, Reinhäuser Landstrasse in the east, Pomerania and the Schneidemühler Weg in the south as well as Lotzestrasse and Bunsenstrasse in the west. Here the sidewalk parking is only permitted where enough space is displayed by signs or markings. A great step to keep the sidewalks for pedestrians, including children and users of wheelchairs!

regulations and changes

The new regulations stipulate that controls will initially take place from September 2025, but no fines are yet due. Instead, there will be information flyers to draw the residents aware of the changes. From October 1, 2025, however, drivers have to calculate with vehicles parked on the sidewalks: Then fines are due if a car should partially park on the sidewalk and partly on the street, as the city of Göttingen in its message here explained.

particularly emphasized that in this context there are about 100 parking spaces, of which more than half have not been used regularly. This procedure is part of the city's endeavors to increase the safety in road traffic, without endangering the necessary space for emergency vehicles and public transport. The first city councilor Christian Schmetz makes it clear: "There is no legal right to a parking space on public ground." The road traffic regulations also remain in force, which means that parking is just as prohibited from curb reductions as the parking of vehicles over 2.8 tons on the sidewalks.

coordination of the measures

In the course of the summer, the corresponding signage and marking work in the southern city will be carried out so that everything can be clearly recognized from September. Of the approximately 100 reduced parking spaces, many will be affected near schools, daycare centers and retirement homes. Here a minimum width of 1.80 meters is required for the sidewalks, while in other areas of the lower south town at least 1.60 meters must be observed.

The decision to select the lower Südstadt was not by chance. The high number of cars parked on sidewalks was a significant restriction for pedestrians. It is all the more important that this change is consistently implemented. In order to find out about the new regulations and details, all those affected can take a look at the urban website: gee.de/parken-suedstadt .