Okay, to all of those who think of Germany as a leader in innovation and somehow believe we have good bicycle infrastructure (heard this on #TheWarOnCars podcast recently).
Here's what happens in #Darmstadt when your quarter finally becomes no-more-free-parking-zone (wait for it though!):
You get informed via flyer into your postbox but that's okay, I would've missed the details if I would have had to look it up on the website.
The flyer says:
✅ Everyone will have to pay 1,50 € per hour (yes, one euro and fifty cents per hour) to park their car (okay, for a maximum of two hours). EXCEPT:
✅ Car-owning residents can purchase an annual parking ticket for 120 € (yes, one-hundred-twenty).
✅ Independently of car-ownership, residents can purchase "guest tickets" for visitors comprised of a sheet of 9 day tickets and one week ticket for 20 € (yes, twenty). If you want to buy one, send an e-mail at lalalala @ lalala.de (no further instructions).
So, I did so, because we have my parents and in-laws over every now and then.
I write an e-mail, "Sehr geehrte... lalala, hochachtungsvoll lalala".
I get a very clearly hand copy-pasted reply to pay 20 € to the indicated IBAN.
I pay and wait.
13 days later, I receive a letter (okay, it's physical tickets to put behind the windscreen, and no hurry it's still a week until the new regime kicks in) with a hand-signed (sic!) cover page politely saying "Here're your tickets" and a perforated A4 sheet with nine blue and one red tickets, each *manually* stamped - I kid you not - because apparently a certificate (Urkunde) needs to hold a seal (Siegel) and some more stuff to be valid.
However: All 10 tickets, while in two different colours, have the exact same print on them stating "this ticket is valid from [enter date] to the following day at 12h00".
So, they handle the whole process manually. Then stamp the freaking tickets individually by hand with a tiny stamp. But they don't bother to check the print!?
But that's not the punchline!
It's not like this could just be a website where you type the license plate, date, verify your residential status using your 37€ ID card (Personalausweis) with RFID chip, pay online and print a freaking A4 paper with a large QR code on your own printer.
The punchline is the fact, that this sheet of 10 guest tickets is actually free. The 20 € you pay is what's called "Bearbeitungsgebühr" (processing fee) and well: Man, you get a show!
Quick question, if you have the time: How is residential parking handled in NL and how is it enforced, @NotJustBikes@mstdn.social ?
I've seen a guest ticket in Enkhuizen for tourists/visitors which was a laminated print ~A5 size.
And I've seen cars of the city council with cameras on the roof (in Amsterdam and Hoorn) cruising through the city.
Any sources how that works and how their enforcement rates are? Here in #Darmstadt they are simply abysmal. On my way to child care we have a car with invalid licence plate, that has already been labelled (removal warning) by the city almost three months ago - and it's still in the same spot 💪 😎
