Friedrichshafen: Parking spaces become open spaces

Friedrichshafen – With the Park(ing) Day on Sunday, the city of Friedrichshafen marked the highlight of its participation in the European Mobility Week (EMW) from 16 to 22 September. On this day, visitors could travel by bus within the Häfler city area for free, and Charlottenstrasse was transformed into a festival mile, with the parking spaces being converted into freely configurable “spaces”.

In addition to information stands on the topic of mobility and children’s activities, many clubs, companies and citizens also designed parking spaces. They were used for a flea market table, a book exchange, tastings or exercise activities. A new e-hybrid bus from the city transport service and the RABus shuttle could be viewed, a mobile curling “Lättle Schießen” or goal wall shooting invited people to get moving. In the Alte Feuerwache parking lot, a supporting program for families and the band Brassmusix as well as various ensembles from the music school provided entertainment, and the athletes from the RRMV art and unicycle club showed off their skills.

Possibilities shown

“During the action week, we will show many ways of being mobile in a sustainable way.” “During Park(ing) Day on Sunday, the cars on Charlottenstrasse will make way for action and information stands or make room for music and much more,” said Mayor Dieter Stauber. The week offered numerous topics and programs, such as the mayor’s bike tour or the “Waiting & Guessing” traffic light quiz to shorten waiting times. Zeppelin University got involved with a panel discussion on the mobility transition, there was an author reading in Kiesel K42, ZF invited those wanting to start a business and start-ups for networked, sustainable mobility to a founders’ week at Seemoser Horn and a free bike check was offered on the lower Buchhornplatz.

Mayor Dieter Stauber was visibly delighted on the music stage at the award ceremony for the most successful participants in the city cycling event in June. The idea of ​​replacing as many car kilometers as possible with cycling reached more participants than ever in 2024. 39 teams with 1855 cyclists took part in almost 35,000 trips, covering 388,443 kilometers and emitting 64 tons of CO₂ avoided. In the team ranking, Rolls-Royce Power Systems came in third with 45.456 km, the Karl-Maybach-Gymnasium came in second with 52.849 km and, as in the previous year, the Graf-Zeppelin-Gymnasium took first place with a sensational 83.758 km, ridden by 492 active cyclists. Corinna Burger proudly accepted the glass trophy and certificate on behalf of the main organizer Neele Onnen. “We have a lot of competence and many very committed people at the school,” said a delighted Corinna Burger. She is a teacher of English, ethics and IT and enjoys being a teacher at the GZG; she is happy about successes as a reward for her efforts throughout the year. The most active individual cyclist was once again Jürgen Dodeck with 2604 kilometers, followed by the married couple Tom (2267 km) and Daniela (1465 km) Reger.

Long-term measures for sustainable mobility are an essential part of the EMW. In Friedrichshafen, another section of the “Veloring” fast cycle route was implemented near the Waggershauser Tunnel. Two “bicycle flounders” were purchased. These are mobile bicycle parking platforms that are set up at various locations for several months to determine the need for additional bicycle parking options or parking zones for shared scooters or pedelecs. As part of a funding program, 50 disabled parking spaces were equipped with a floor sensor that provides real-time occupancy data. This is intended to reduce traffic looking for parking spaces and to check the need and correct location of disabled parking spaces.

Mobility Week

European Mobility Week (EMW) is a campaign by the European Commission that takes place every year from 16 to 22 September. Since 2002, it has given municipalities from all over Europe the opportunity to show their citizens that sustainable mobility is possible, fun and can be lived. With the EMW, the Commission wants to motivate cities and municipalities to raise awareness of the issue of “sustainable mobility”. Friedrichshafen has been taking part since 2012.