The five largest cities in Switzerland have removed over 11.000 parking spaces from their streets in the last 10 years. Some urban areas are planning to scrap half of public spaces in a bid to achieve climate-related goals, causing anger among some locals and drivers.

Swiss cities scrap thousands of parking spaces

According to the data from each canton, the five largest cities in Switzerland have removed 11.000 parking spaces since 2015, accounting for up to 10 percent of all spaces. In Zurich, authorities have removed 3.220 spaces, compared to 3.067 in Geneva, 2.511 in Lausanne, 1.467 in Basel and 1.302 in Bern. Even smaller cities like St. Gallen and Winterthur have significantly reduced their parking offerings.

Most are not expected to stop any time soon, with city officials in Zurich telling the Tages-Anzeiger that it hopes to reduce the number of cars in the city by 2040, which will be achieved in part by scrapping an additional 10.000 parking spaces. Geneva plans to scrap 12.000 spaces by 2040, while Lucerne is set to cut its number of spaces by half.

Parking policy vital for achieving climate goals, experts argue

In justifying getting rid of the spaces, authorities argue that if Switzerland is to achieve its climate goals, more people will have to stop driving and take more environmentally friendly forms of transport like public transport and cycling. Removing the parking spaces also improves local residents' quality of life by reducing noise and environmental pollution and allowing authorities to use the ex-parking spaces as green areas, cycle paths or pedestrian routes.

Speaking to the Tages-Anzeiger, urban sociology professor at EPF in Lausanne Vincent Kaufmann argued that "in order to prevent road users from outside the city from being tempted to come to the city by car, it is important to reduce the number of parking spaces accordingly."

He added that removing parking spaces is a “powerful lever” - data shows that since the spaces started to be removed in 2015, the amount of cars travelling through Basel, Zurich, Bern and Geneva has dropped by between 5,2 and 12,4 percent. 

Opponents say scrapping spaces hurts communities and business

By contrast, Swiss People’s Party (SVP) National Councillor and president of the Automobile Club of Switzerland Thomas Hurter said that scrapping parking spaces was “counterproductive”. He argued that the policy negatively impacts people without strong public transport connections close by, and local businesses who rely on customers from outside the local area. 

In response to the parking plans, the SVP in Zurich has launched a referendum calling for a freeze on the number of parking spaces in the city at the level seen on January 1, 2025. If approved, the plan would require the local council to build a new parking space for each one it removes.

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