Since 2015, around 11,000 public car park spaces have been removed in cities and large towns across Switzerland, according to recent analysis reported by Tages Anzeiger.
More than 3,000 parking places have been removed in both Geneva and in Zurich, more than 2,500 in Lausanne, nearly 1,500 in Basel and around 1,300 in Bern.
Cities in French-speaking Switzerland have seen the greatest decline in percentage terms. Geneva and Lausanne have both seen more than 10% of their public parking spaces removed since 2015. Geneva has lost 13% and plans to take away a further 12,000 places by 2034. Lausanne has removed more than 11% of its public parking since 2015.
Zurich, which has removed close to 7% of its public parking since 2015, has agressive plans to remove a further 10,000 places by 2040, with the aim of cutting traffic into the city by 30%. At the same time the connection between public cark park numbers and traffic has correlated loosely over the last few years.
Cutting traffic would make cities calmer, cleaner places for those who live in them, although electric vehicles do solve the local air pollution problem. However, for those who don’t, getting there will become, in many cases, more time consuming, less convenient and more expensive.
With more services going online, shopping, delivered food, and entertainment in particular, there is less need for people to go into cities. Removing carparks could be an effective way to accelerate this trend. A further shift towards digital will increase retail efficiency – large online retailers are significantly more efficient than the brick and morter stores found in towns and cities. The bigger these digital businesses get the more efficient they become.
In addition, the consolidated deliveries associated with online shopping are more efficient than everyone making separate trips to physical stores. These efficiencies have the potential to cut transport emissions and further reduce retail prices, provided market regulators ensure there is sufficient competition in online retail. Online shopping also allows consumers to access lower cost overseas retail, unburdended by Switzerland’s high retail cost structure.
The analysis looked only at public car parking spaces in large towns and cities. Privately owned parking spaces were not included.
More on this:
Tages Anzeiger article (in German)
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