Overview
- Only 33 of 105 cities told Deutsche Umwelthilfe they do not tolerate parking on sidewalks, revealing widespread local leniency.
- Cities apply widely varying minimum remaining widths, from common thresholds around 1.5 meters to extremes such as Jena acting only below 50 centimeters and Lübeck tolerating down to 90 centimeters.
- Other cited examples include Braunschweig and St. Ingbert allowing about 1.0 meter, Schwerin 1.2 meters, Hamburg 2.2 meters, and multiple Bavarian cities permitting 1.3 to 1.8 meters depending on location.
- A minority report zero-tolerance policies, including Weimar, Erfurt, Regensburg, Würzburg, Osnabrück, Wolfsburg, Greifswald, Neubrandenburg, Neumünster and Norderstedt, with Kassel largely enforcing but noting legacy exceptions.
- While national rules generally ban sidewalk parking and technical guidance recommends 2.50 meters for unimpeded passage, DUH says many municipalities fall short; Munich has signaled stricter action ahead and Kiel plans to secure 2.50-meter widths by 2035.