{"id":188,"date":"2025-09-05T09:08:34","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T09:08:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/mladizeleniznovu\/?page_id=188"},"modified":"2025-09-29T11:10:41","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T11:10:41","slug":"auta-na-chodniku-nechceme","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mladi-zeleni.cz\/en\/projekty\/auta-na-chodniku-nechceme\/","title":{"rendered":"Cars don't belong on the sidewalk!"},"content":{"rendered":"

We Don't Want Cars on the Sidewalk<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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INFOBOX<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Public project, in which you can participate<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

State:<\/strong> In progress<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summary: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \"We Don't Want Cars on the Sidewalk\" campaign aims to draw attention to the dangers of illegal parking of cars at intersections, crosswalks, pedestrian zones, sidewalks and other places. Do you want your city to address this problem more? Find out why and how to get involved below.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The price we all pay for illegal parking<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Parking in Czech cities defies any rules and negatively affects the lives of their residents. Vehicles are parked on sidewalks, at intersections, at crossings or in pedestrian zones, blocking the passage of pedestrians, especially those with disabilities or those with strollers, obstructing the view of passing cars and dramatically increasing the risk of collision with a person.<\/strong>Often, the only way to get around a car is to enter the road.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

In the last two years, there have been almost 400 accidents in municipalities in the Czech Republic that were caused by the blocking of a parked vehicle. In almost 70 cases, pedestrians were injured.<\/strong> This behavior is especially risky for children, who are easily overlooked by drivers right on the sidewalk or hidden at the crossing behind a parked car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In addition, by driving and standing on the sidewalk, cars destroy curbs, surfaces and utilities<\/strong>, which are repaired from public budgets. The first cubes are released from the paved sidewalk after approximately 10-30 car drives. However, the utilities under the sidewalks suffer significantly worse impacts. Older sewers are not built to withstand the load of several-ton cars. The average age of sewers in the Czech Republic is over 30 years and their repair costs in the order of hundreds of thousands or several million.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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These are all reasons why parking on the sidewalk is generally prohibited. <\/strong>Yet it still happens all the time. The Road Traffic Act is not observed in this case and is only enforced to a very minimal extent.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fines that no one pays<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n


Statistics <\/strong>of the Czech Police analyzed in the past by Den\u00edk N<\/a> and server iRozhlas<\/a> for Prague and Brno show that in some parts of the city, up to half of all cars park illegally <\/strong>(this includes non-payment of the fee in blue zones). The Councilor for Transport of the Prague 1 district, Vojt\u011bch Ryvola, adds that in total, the number of drivers parking illegally is <\/strong>about 25 %<\/strong><\/a>. <\/strong>Cities and municipal police departments are responsible for punishing illegally parked vehicles, but they are unable to deal with illegal and dangerous parking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The number of parking violations on the sidewalk in 2022 was 101,435 (!) in Prague alone.<\/strong>It pays to ignore fines. Up to a third of them fall under administrative proceedings and are not paid. It rarely happens that a car is towed. The number of towing operations in Prague and Brno is negligible, and the cities do not set up their system effectively<\/strong> \u2013 they pay extra for their implementation instead of unruly drivers. Prague charges 1900 crowns for towing, but the costs are much higher. And according to the latest data, despite promises, the situation is not changing<\/a>. In Brno, 16,640 parking violations were committed in 2019, and towing was ordered in 4 of them.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>

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This situation is certainly great for cars and drivers. They park their cars in public spaces and others bear the consequences. It's as if everyone were throwing their trash anywhere and deliberately not paying for its collection. Just as we have trash cans and garbage collection fees for trash, we have parking spaces and parking fees for cars.<\/strong> But the rules for both need to be enforced equally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do we catch up with the \"West\"?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Just look abroad, where illegal parking is taken as seriously as all other offenses, and take inspiration from the measures that were introduced there in the past. There is no single reason why this wouldn't work here.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. The necessary way is to make structural modifications to public spaces that can prevent illegal parking. Columns or greenery separating sidewalks and clearly marked parking spaces are key elements, along with new marked supply points. <\/strong>What certainly won't help is building more parking spaces. According to many analyses<\/a> this generally increases traffic density and does not solve illegal parking. In addition to a safer public space for children, parents with strollers, people with disabilities and all pedestrians, these adjustments also ensure a reduction in the number of parking spaces and thus a reduction in the abnormal number of cars and trucks. In the longer term, it also reduces the traffic load on cities, i.e. a reduction in emissions and heat produced by car engines, but also relief for motorists themselves - fewer cars on the road means traffic without queues and space for those who really need to drive.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Create so-called fifteen-minute cities<\/strong>, where basic services are available within 15 minutes on foot, by public transport or by bike. Examples from Oslo, Paris and Copenhagen show that such changes increase the quality of life and reduce dependence on cars. Moreover, studies confirm the economic benefits of active transport \u2013 for example, in Seville, each cycle trip instead of a car saves almost \u20ac2, while according to a Copenhagen analysis, each kilometre cycled saves society CZK 15.5 thanks to health benefits and lower accident costs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. A crucial step to \u201ccatch up with the West\u201d is to ensure that parking rules apply and that the police are able to enforce them.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Come help solve it!<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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