With a parking strategy for the entire city area, the City of Bonn has drawn up guidelines on how parking space in the city should be managed. Due to the continuing rise in the number of private vehicle registrations and the ever-increasing size of vehicles, traffic congestion in inner-city areas is steadily increasing. As a result, stationary vehicle traffic- i.e. parked vehicles - is taking up more and more space, so that large parts of the public street space are now being used as parking areas.

Parking space management is an important tool for distributing the limited public space as fairly as possible. The target resolution on the city-wide parking strategy, which was adopted by the Bonn City Council on February 10, 2022, as well as an overview map showing which districts have been and are being examined, can be  found here (opens in a new tab).

The concrete plans for those neighborhoods where there is evidence of high parking pressure focus on the following goals

• Reserving parking space in public streets for residents as opposed to non-residents
• Reduction of parking pressure in inner-city neighborhoods
• Reduction of inner-city traffic, especially parking search traffic
• Reallocation of space for alternative modes of transport and mobility services (cycle paths, wider sidewalks, mobile stations, car sharing, etc.)
• Revitalization of inner-city districts through a higher quality of stay and conversion of parking spaces for inner-city greening and other uses (e.g. gastronomy)
• Expansion of digital services, for example with regard to cashless payment processes or parking guidance systems

An important aspect of all planning is a minimum footpath width of 1.50 meters so that all road users - including people in wheelchairs or with baby carriages - can move around easily. In the case of new plans, at least 2.50 meters must be created.

In the parking garages managed by Bonner City Parkraum GmbH, parking costs two euros per hour for the first two hours and 2.50 euros per hour from the third hour. Further information on the rates and current occupancy of the parking garages can be found  here (opens in a new tab).

Since July 26, 2022, there have been three charging zones for parking on public streets with the following rates

• Zone 1: 2 euros per half hour or part thereof
• Zone 2: 1.50 euros per half hour or part thereof
• Zone 3: 1 euro per half hour or part thereof

An overview of the street directory with the currently valid zones can be found  here.

The parking fee regulations of the city of Bonn can be found  here.

If you don't want to search for coins at the parking ticket machine, you can pay parking fees in municipal parking lots conveniently via app. The city of Bonn works together with the  Smartparking (opens in a new tab) association for this purpose. In Bonn, you can choose from these providers: EasyPark, PARK NOW, Yellowbrick/flowbird, moBiLET, PayByPhone, Parkster and PARCO.

In Bonn, parking should be financed more by the users themselves and less by the general public. Reasonable parking fees also help to shift parking from the street to parking garages and garages. If fewer drivers are looking for a parking space on the streets, noise and air pollution levels will decrease and traffic will become safer.

In inner-city districts, parking space management with resident parking regulations should be gradually introduced if there is evidence of high parking pressure. Exemptions will be offered for care services, tradespeople and delivery traffic at appropriate conditions. There should be sufficient parking spaces for people with disabilities.

Public space in Bonn should be distributed more fairly. In many places, pedestrians or people in wheelchairs or with baby carriages have too little space on footpaths because parking is permitted on them.

Where it is structurally possible, the minimum width of 1.50 meters for sidewalks will therefore be restored, or 1.80 meters in particularly busy areas.

Other areas that are no longer available as parking spaces are to be used for alternative mobility options such as bicycle and sharing parking spaces, greenery, seating or gastronomic purposes. In this way, streets can once again become places where people can meet and spend time.

Resident parking permits offer residents the advantage of using public parking spaces without having to pay general parking fees or comply with parking time limits. However, holders of resident parking permits are not guaranteed a parking space in public spaces.

The current maximum charge of 30.70 euros per year for a resident parking permit is not appropriate in relation to the actual costs of public parking space and its economic value. You can find more information on how the fees are calculated  here (opens in a new tab).

In Bonn, the fees for resident parking permits will therefore be increased in two stages: From March 1, 2023, the fee will rise to 15 euros per month and from March 1, 2024 to 30 euros per month. The Office for Social Affairs and Housing will cover 75 percent of the fees for people with a "Bonn ID card".

Information on applying for and  here (opens in a new tab).

In Bonn, the fees for resident parking permits will therefore be increased in two stages: From March 1, 2023, the fee will rise to 15 euros per month and from March 1, 2024 to 30 euros per month. The Office for Social Affairs and Housing will cover 75 percent of the fees for people with a "Bonn ID card".

Information on applying for and renewing resident parking permits can be found  here.