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The city of Offenbach wants to designate an area of 110 hectares for resident parking from summer. Among other things, the entire Offenbacher Westend.
For many months, traffic department head Paul-Gerhard Weiß (FDP) and the city administration have been receiving calls from annoyed Offenbachers. They cannot find parking spaces at their place of residence because commuters or other non-residents park their cars in the streets. “The growth of 20,000 residents in the last 15 years is particularly noticeable in traffic,” says Weiß. In the summer the situation should relax, because the city is planning an extensive expansion of residential parking throughout the city, subject to the approval of the city council.
According to a city council resolution, a total area of 110 hectares, which corresponds to around 2500 parking spaces, is to be designated as resident parking. In addition to the existing eleven residents’ parking areas with currently around 6100 parking spaces, six are to be added – including the entire Westend. This would mean nationwide resident parking north of the railway line, as the resident parking in the Mathildenviertel is to be expanded. In the south of Offenbach, the area of the Sana Clinic and the Senefelder district would be added. In the east of the city two smaller districts in the area of the Obere Grenzstrasse and the Lammerspieler Weg.
Rearrange street space
“It was a complex process,” reports Horst-Ingo Kupfer, head of the transport planning division. In order to set up a resident parking zone, it had to be proven that a particularly large number of non-residents park there for long periods. The last change was made in 2007. Since 2017, the traffic planners have been investigating: Which cars are parked there? How long do you park? “In the interests of the mobility transition, it is necessary to rearrange the street space,” explains Kupfer. Among other things, it is about avoiding the search for parking space and thus avoiding the emission of exhaust gases.
The districts are to be regulated according to the so-called mixed principle. This means that around 70 percent of the streets are designated as resident parking, the remaining 30 percent remain unregulated. From Monday to Saturday between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m., visitors will only be able to park for two hours inside. “But there can be slight differences locally,” says Kupfer.
Commuters: he recommended switching to local public transport or cycling. Weiß referred to the possibility of renting parking spaces in multi-storey car parks. “The focus is on the residents,” said the city council, referring again to the increased number of cars from 51,000 to 57,000 from 2007 to 2017. The number is now likely to be even higher.
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