Hartmut H. Topp

Parking policies in large cities in Germany

This article deals with highly motorized large West German cities of about 200,000 inhabitants and more, which usually provide reasonable public transport systems. Illegal parking with shares of about 40 to 50% of the total parking is widespread in the parking problem areas of those cities, especially in the inner-city residential and mixed-use areas. Parking spaces are demanded by residents, employees, customers and visitors, and by delivery and service traffic. The different characteristics of parking demands by different user groups are discussed. The total parking supply consists of public and private spaces. The share of private spaces is about 40 to 50% of the total parking spaces in German cities. The amount of car traffic generated by a parking space depends on parking duration and parking turnover, as well as on search traffic. So the change of a space from long-duration use of an employee to short-duration of customers — as often discussed in parking concepts — generates at least five-fold car traffic. The measurements and effects of parking control of public spaces as well as the parking regulations in zoning ordinances, restrictions on the construction of new private parking spaces and park-and-ride are discussed. Finally, a parking concept methodology — using the example of Frankfurt am Main — is discussed.

Traffic safety, usability and streetscape effects of new design principles for major urban roads

An important aspect of area-wide traffic calming concepts is the integration of major urban roads, because 70 to 80 percent of all urban accidents occur on major roads. Traffic calming which is primarily based on the locational shift to such main thoroughfares is socially injust, because — in spite of all disturbances on those streets — about one quarter of the urban population live there. Social justice can only be somewhat achieved if the expenditures for traffic calming and streetscaping are not used — as today is most common — for accumulating the advantages in the low traffic side streets, but aimed at a partial balance and compensation for the strains caused by car traffic on the major streets. Some compensatory measures and new design principles will be discussed. Backgrounds are the experience in six German model cities of area-wide traffic calming, several research projects and the discussion about new guidelines for major urban roads. Where traffic and environmental burdens focus, the concentration concept should be extended by compensatory measures. That is the state of discussion in Germany examplified by nine topics.

Cooperation in transit delivery in West German metropolitan areas

West Germany is densely populated, averaging 245 inhabitants/km2, but varying widely between urban agglomerations and rural areas. Transport volume has increased by 40% since 1970, with virtually all growth due to private automobiles. Since 1981 public transit has been suffering from decreasing demand.A 1964 Experts Report to the German federal government was the stimulus for initiating an effective funding mechanism for new public transit construction. In 1965 Germanys first federated transit authority was founded for the region of Hamburg.Principal among the goals of any cooperative agreement among transit companies are improvements for the passengers and improvement of revenues for the companies. To attain these ends, two distinct forms of transit aggrements have been developed in Germany: transit cooperative (Verkehrsgemeinschaft) and transit federation (Verkehrsverbund). The former is more suitable for smaller to medium-sized towns, while the latter is more suitable for larger cities. The two types are described in this article.German transit federations during the 1970s succeeded in significantly increasing ridership, while during the 1980s patronage has either remained steady or has declined. Yet transit federations showed much better perfomance than did public transit in general. In terms of costs and revenues, no public transit organization in Germany is able to break even; deficits vary between 42% and 55%. The author concludes, however, that hidden subsidies for automobile traffic are far higher, because of environmental damage and the high social cost of traffic accidents.

TRAFFIC 2042: MOSAIC OF A VISION

This paper presents a view of what transportation and traffic may be like in the year 2042. It is important to consider the future since, even with rapid changes in areas such as communication and mobility, wide-ranging developments can be significantly influenced by political and planning interventions. The author presents possible developments through a mosaic of topics: city, edge city and suburbia development; post-material lifestyles; car use without car ownership; virtual mobility; intermodal transport; hydrogen-powered cars; privatized road network and road fees; and automatic driving. Several of these suggestions may prove to be overly optimistic, but others have already been implemented in some areas.

Wirkung und Akzeptanz von Verkehrs- und Eventmanagement- Maßnahmen während der FIFA Fussball-WM 2006™

Grosveranstaltungen stellen hohe Anforderungen an Verkehrsinfrastruktur und Verkehrsmanagement hinsichtlich Leistungsfahigkeit, Information, Umweltvertraglichkeit und Sicherheit. Die FIFA Fussball-Weltmeisterschaft 2006™ in Deutschland war wegen ihrer Grose und Dauer, Internationalitat und Sicherheitsanforderungen eine besondere Herausforderung und damit auch ein besonders reizvolles Forschungsobjekt zur Wirkungsweise von Masnahmen des Verkehrs- und Eventmanagements bei internationalen Grosveranstaltungen. Wichtigste Aspekte waren die umweltvertragliche Gestaltung der Spiele, geregelt uber das Gesamtkonzept „Green Goal“, die Fangruppentrennung auf den Anreisrouten des MIV und des OPNV zum Stadion sowie Vorgaben zu den bereitzustellenden Parkplatzkapazitaten.

Mehr Mobilität, weniger Verkehr bei Innen- vor Außenentwicklung

KurzfassungInnenentwicklung nutzt vorhandene Infrastruktur: Die Kapazitäten reichen bei kleinteiliger Entwicklung oder bei Ersatz anderer verkehrsintensiver Nutzungen aus—insbesondere bei abnehmender Bevölkerung. Bei großen Innenentwicklungen trifft dies jedoch nicht zu. Neue Stadtteile im Außenbereich sind nach einem „Zwischenhoch” im letzten Jahrzehnt mit der sich abzeichnenden demographischen Entwicklung nicht mehr vereinbar. Das Problem von Zwischenstadt und Suburbia bleibt der Verkehr: zu dispers für ÖPNV, zu weit für Fahrrad und zu Fuß. Die Auto-Abhängigkeit dort bindet erhebliche Anteile der Haushaltsbudgets. Innenentwicklung profitiert von der Nähe bereits vorhandener Nutzungen. Wie Nutzungsmischung individuell genutzt wird, bestimmt die verkehrlichen Effekte. Die hierzu geführte (kontroverse) Diskussion wird aufgezeigt.AbstractInner-city development uses available infrastructure: The capacities suffice in case of a small-scale development or if other traffic-intensive uses are replaced—especially if the population decreases. They are not sufficient in case of large-scale inner-city developments. Following an „intermediary peak” in the last decade, new urban districts in the surrounding areas are not cosistent anymore with the emerging demographic development. Traffic remains a problem for intermediate city and suburbia: it is too dispersive for local public transport, the distances are too large to go by bicycle and foot. The dependence on the car binds a considerable part of budgets. Inner-city development benefits from the proximity to already available uses. The way in which mixed land use is individually handled, determines traffic-related effects. The related (controversial) discussion will be presented in the following.

Erreichbarkeit, Parkraum und Einzelhandel der Innenstadt

KurzfassungAusgehend von der Rolle der Innenstadt und der Tradition der Fußgängerzonen werden verschiedene Aspekte der Erreichbarkeit behandelt: Stadtstruktur, Flächennutzung und Verkehr, äußere und innere Erreichbarkeit, Erreichbarkeit nach Verkehrsmitteln und objektive und subjektive Erreichbarkeit. Der immer wieder diskutierte angebliche Mangel an Parkraum kommt als Ursache für die Probleme des Einzelhandels kaum in Frage: Bei mangelnder Auslastung durch Kurzparker vermieten viele Parkhäuser immer mehr an Dauerparker — wirtschaftlich eine Auffangposition und verkehrspolitisch kontraproduktiv. Viele Kunden orientieren sich weniger an objektiv vorhandener Erreichbarkeit und tatsächlichen Parkmöglichkeiten als vielmehr an ihrer subjektiven Wahrnehmung, die durch veröffentlichte Meinung und vom Hörensagen geprägt wird. Einvernehmliche Maßnahmen und gemeinsame Werbung von Stadt und Einzelhandel sind für den Standort Innenstadt nützlicher als die Forderung nach mehr Parkraum oder die Ablehnung von Verkehrsberuhigung.