The legal basis is clear and very unambiguous: vehicles must use the carriageway. This is stated in § 2 of the STVO. To park, you must drive onto the right-hand hard shoulder or the edge of the carriageway. There are exceptions, but these are clearly regulated. The entire STVO does not mention the right to park on pavements at all times. And yet "pavement parking" is often practised as a matter of course and has been tolerated in Rodgau for a long time - it has never been generally permitted under the STVO. Around two years ago, Rodgau town council decided that parking on pavements should no longer be permitted as a matter of principle; exceptions to this are and will be expressly ordered. The aim was also to clarify that the public traffic area is not a privileged zone for residents: the space in front of your own property is not your "own" additional parking space, but is available to all road users equally and on an equal footing. Overall, the decision to ban pavement parking in principle has been met with both praise and criticism. Extensive measures were taken to implement this decision. For example, an information campaign was launched that was unrivalled in its form and duration. Beforehand, however, all 450 Rodgau streets were categorised by the regulatory authority according to "vehicles parked along the entire length of the street, in certain areas or not on the pavements". The order in which the measures were then implemented depended, among other things, on the number of complaints received, previous warnings or existing parking pressure. It was also examined whether the vehicles parked on the street could also be parked on the properties - because that is where they belong in the first place. In areas where major roadworks or other obstructions restricted the road space, the measure was not implemented for the time being. To ensure that nobody was caught on the "wrong foot", press releases, letters to residents, daily checks in the affected streets and notices on parked vehicles were on the agenda. Only then did those who were still parking on the pavement in contravention of traffic regulations actually receive a "parking ticket". At the moment, a few streets, mainly in the industrial estates, are still awaiting implementation. By the end of the year, legally compliant parking on pavements should have been initiated throughout the city. However, communication with residents will also continue beyond the enforcement phase if there is a need to do so, just as the checks by the police are to be continued. In addition to regulating parking behaviour, both positive and negative observations were made and experience gained by the regulatory authority. There were displacement effects in other streets, a lack of insight on the part of parkers and the underestimation of the necessary remaining passage widths sometimes led to bottlenecks in the streets. Of course, there were also complaints from those who struggled with the change. However, it was also positive to note that the majority of those in the affected streets were in favour of the measure and its implementation. Neighbours agreed on sensible parking regulations and vehicles were moved to the properties. In fact, additional signage or markings to clarify the parking options were only necessary in very isolated cases. From the initial idea to the way it was implemented and the reorganisation of parking space in the city area, Rodgau has successfully implemented a measure that has also attracted attention in other cities. In doing so, the city and the urban community have taken a big step towards equal coexistence for all road users - on the street and on the pavement!
