Parking fees in Cologne are rising: residents will soon have to dig deeper into their pockets!

Parking fees in Cologne are rising: residents will soon have to dig deeper into their pockets!

In Cologne it will soon be significantly more expensive to park your mobile vehicle. The city council has made the decision to increase parking fees in city parking garages and parking meters, which will primarily affect the city center area. According to information from Radio Erft Prices at city facilities haven't been increased in nearly a decade. This is now causing a stir, because the current tariffs are significantly lower than those of private providers.

The fee adjustment is expected to be officially decided by the Cologne city council on Thursday, and the new prices could even be up to twice as high as before. The maximum price is expected to be 5 euros per hour for parking meters in the city center, while you can expect 1.80 euros per hour in municipal parking garages outside the center, for example at the zoo or in districts such as Ehrenfeld and Mülheim.

New parking fee regulations with objectives

Cologne is already planning a new parking fee regulation for 2025, which is intended as a further development of the 2019 regulation. The aim of these adjustments, according to City of Cologne Among other things, the implementation of points from the “Parking” master plan aims to promote environmentally friendly means of transport and reduce emissions.

As part of this new regulation, parking fees will be increased while the maximum parking time will be reduced. An important measure is that doctors, nursing services, midwives, craftsmen and people with disabilities remain unaffected by the new regulations. The “bun button” is also particularly important: the regulation for 15 minutes of free parking in the city remains in place, but an expansion of this is not recommended.

Long-term parking and fee structure

Speaking of long-term parking: In the future, this will be possible for 30 euros per day; the option for a 7-day parking permit will no longer be available. In the city center, long-term parking within the Cologne rings is to be completely stopped, while it remains possible in districts 2 to 9. For parking areas at the zoo there is a maximum parking period of 12 hours, associated with a fee of 6 euros.

The whole thing also has an income side: Loud Cologne district love Around 21.25 million euros were generated from parking fees in 2023. Revenues for 2024 are expected at a similar level.

To summarize: Parking fees are rising, the regulations are changing and the city of Cologne has made a lot of plans to improve the parking situation. It remains to be seen whether this will succeed - the good hand that the city shows is crucial for the quality of life of Cologne residents.