The district administration department (KVR) wants to take more action against illegal parking on Munich’s streets and at the same time intensify the monitoring of flowing traffic. Next Tuesday, the city council’s district administration committee is scheduled to decide on planned changes, such as parking enforcement.
Because the number of cars in Munich is constantly increasing. More than 760,000 cars are registered in the city. This also means that space in public spaces is becoming more limited and drivers often park their vehicles illegally.
In order to curb illegal parking, the KVR needs a lot of staff, but they are not that easy to find. 109 of 279 positions are currently vacant at Municipal Traffic Monitoring (KVÜ). According to district administration officer Hanna Sammüller-Gradl, technology could help here in the future. By automatically recording license plates using cameras, the authority could check whether the vehicle is legally parked, for example in a parking license area.
Diesel vehicles that are not allowed to drive into the low emission zone could also be identified automatically. Municipal traffic enforcement could drive around the city with so-called scan cars and detect parking violations faster than ever. Because this is currently not permitted by law in Germany, Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) should advocate for a change.
But the idea is not well received by the Social Democrats. “We certainly don’t want comprehensive monitoring of all vehicles in Munich. However, the use of digital technology could make sense for illegal parking that blocks escape routes or hinders local public transport,” explains SPD parliamentary group vice-president Christian Vorländer. “Especially outside, our traffic monitoring can hardly achieve this everywhere. If the necessary change in the law comes, we would be happy to discuss whether this can be implemented in Munich.”
The CSU doesn’t think anything of the project. “George Orwell sends his regards,” says deputy group leader Evelyne Menges. The KVR boss’s plans are completely disproportionate and “green ideology instead of bourgeois sense of proportion.” They clearly reject video surveillance of all cars. “We don’t want a surveillance state to control administrative offenses,” said Menges. “Whether someone has a permit for their diesel car is not a question of public safety.”
Currently, only the police are allowed to have it towed
The city cannot simply arrange for illegal parkers to be towed away. Only the police are allowed to do this. Only in certain cases, such as a parked fire station, are KVÜ employees allowed to request a towing service after consulting the police by telephone. In many other cases, however, a patrol must first arrive. The mayor should also lobby the legislature for more competence of the KVÜ.
As far as moving traffic is concerned, the KVR wants to monitor this more closely in the future. So far there is an agreement with the police that the city only takes action on streets with a speed limit of 30 km/h. This has been regulated contractually since 1994. But there is neither a legal requirement nor a reason for this. Therefore this rule should be abolished.
The KVR then wants to develop a concept for stationary measuring systems together with the mobility department. The use of so-called semi-stationary speed cameras is also planned: These are systems that are mobile but do not require on-site personnel and can therefore be used around the clock. The KVR wants to purchase two such systems. Costs: around 600,000 euros.
There are currently 76 parking license areas in Munich.
(Photo: Catherina Hess)
By the end of 2023, there will be 76 parking license areas in Munich with a total of around 99,000 parking spaces. In addition, there are the main train station, the old town, the Domagkpark and the trade fair city of Riem with comprehensive parking space management. The KVÜ controls 63 of the existing parking license areas. The Munich Police Headquarters is responsible for these controls in the remaining 13 parking license areas and in the rest of the city.
However, the city will not be able to noticeably expand its own controls using the above-mentioned technical means alone, assuming they are ever permitted. In order to find more staff, the KVR wants to pay its field staff better. A beginner currently starts with just under 2,600 euros gross in pay group E5. The idea is that if the employees in the field were given more skills, for example by being allowed to arrange towing, a higher classification could possibly be arranged.
But that’s just theory so far – as are the potential effects of increased traffic surveillance. The aim is to increase road safety and make life easier for all road users: pedestrians and cyclists by not having their paths blocked as often, and drivers by making it easier to find a parking space in licensed areas again – theoretically.