New parking fees and dog tax: Göttingen is changing regulations from July!

New parking fees and dog tax: Göttingen is changing regulations from July!

In Göttingen, July 1, 2025 will be a day full of innovations, because this Tuesday important regulations will come into force that affect parking in the eastern district and the dog tax. These changes are the result of a decision by the Administrative Committee that was made on March 10, 2025. Around 2,000 public parking spaces will be converted into a parking management zone, meaning drivers will now have to pay for parking. The fees for non-residents in parking zone II are 1.20 euros per hour. Payment can be made either via the practical Parkster app or at newly installed machines, eleven out of twelve of which are already in operation, like Göttinger Tageblatt reported.

The area for paid parking is clearly defined: the parking space management zone extends over streets such as Am Steinsgraben, Friedländer Weg and Herzberger Landstrasse. In order to accommodate citizens, residents can apply for resident parking permits before the regulation comes into force - in the first year these cost 120 euros, from 2026 the fees will increase to 150 euros and from 2027 to 180 euros. The aim of these measures? To noticeably reduce parking pressure in residential areas and achieve a fairer distribution of costs, as the city administration explains.

Special regulations and goals

Special regulations apply in the Schillerwiese area: Here, drivers can park for up to 11 hours in certain areas, deviating from the usual maximum parking time of four hours. In addition, the maximum parking time at the Arnoldi School will be extended to six hours, which will make things even easier for parents and students. However, this is different for the students: they will also have to pay parking fees in the future, which could certainly cause a little more headache for the parents.

In parallel to the new parking fees, a revised dog tax statute will come into force. The tax for dangerous dog breeds will be drastically increased - from the previous 120 euros to an impressive 744 euros per year for newly registered dogs of the Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier and others breeds. For animals that have already been registered, everything remains the same. This measure is not only intended to have a preventative effect, but also to increase safety in the city, as the number of registered dogs of these breeds has increased by 100 percent since 2018. If you look at the 41 biting incidents in the last two and a half years, seven of which were caused by fighting dogs, the urgency of this regulation becomes clear, as Göttinger Tageblatt further reported.

Criticism and challenges

However, the new regulations are not without controversy. The GöLinke faction is raising concerns, and a petition from dog owners that has collected more than 1,000 signatures is calling for tax relief. These critical voices show that the measures are met with divided opinions. It remains to be seen how citizens will come to terms with the new regulations in practice.

In conclusion, it can be said that parking space management plays an important role in many municipalities in order to optimize the use of road space and reduce environmentally harmful traffic. A study shows that the advantages of parking space management are enormous: from a reduction in traffic looking for parking to an improvement in the quality of stay in urban areas, as kommunal.de summarizes. The upcoming changes in Göttingen could represent a first step towards future-oriented parking space management.