BACK GROUND ment edges for various urban uses. This area accounts for a significant proportion of public roads (1/4 in Montreal, for example). It is mainly dedicated to parking, but also to other functions such as terraces or planted areas. Although they present fewer constraints be- cause pedestrian paths do not have to be maintained, they require complex manage- ment, often involving a large number of com- munity players. The consultation recently car- ried out by the City of Paris demonstrated the diversity of possible uses and the multiplicity of services involved (roads, waste manage- ment, green spaces, urban planning). Another complicating factor is the fact that the parking lane has two types of regu- lation: on the one hand, there are spaces that fall under criminal law, such as disabled spaces, delivery spaces and spaces reserved for electric vehicles, and on the other hand, there are parking spaces that are exempt from criminal law. This duality is matched by different forms of governance, resulting in interface problems and inconsistencies in the management of the two types of spaces. Fraud involving cards or tickets for disa- bled people is undoubtedly the most wide- spread example of such offences. In some towns and cities, an abnormally high pro- portion of vehicles – sometimes more than 15 per cent – park in spaces reserved for PRMs. The fact that these spaces are not de- criminalised, unlike paid parking spaces, can create a windfall effect of motorists trying to evade parking controls. How other countries manage the kerbside Belgium, which decriminalised paid parking in 2004, has introduced a second wave in 2019, transforming delivery areas into paid spaces, with a very high charge for those who do not drive a delivery vehicle. The United Kingdom has gone further and de- criminalised all parking spaces, so that a single operator can control both paid park- ing and reserved spaces. In France, the scope of the criminal law re- mains quite distinct from that of paid parking, but the difficulties encountered and the ex- pected benefits should eventually lead to sim- plification by extending decriminalisation. In Germany, Cologne is an example of dy- namic management of the parking strip: in order to widen certain pavements, the mu- nicipality has decided to vary its use over the course of the week: paid parking, delivery zones, traffic lanes. Existing technologies, such as automatic number plate recognition and online reser- vations, offer solutions for optimising con- trol, considerably reducing operating costs. However, there are questions about univer- sal access to the service and data protection in this emerging technological context. New European disability card According to Eric Gantelet, the situation of PRM users of the parking strip should change. The European institutions are cur- rently examining a directive that should in- troduce a new European disability card. It will then be necessary for cardholders to be able to exercise their parking rights without having to register on as many applications as there are towns and cities they visit. Only a centralised system, managed at the level of each member state, would provide a real so- lution. As the PRM card follows its holder wherever they go, this system should make it possible to register not just one number plate, but as many plates as there are vehi- cles carrying the PRM. The case of tradespeople should be man- aged on another scale, that of the conurba- tion. As they move around the same urban area on a daily basis, they should have a sin- gle account, rather than as many accounts as the number of communes in which they op- erate. The case of Montpellier illustrates the possibility of changing the way parking is managed under current regulations. Manu Reynaud explains the desire of the Mayor elected in 2020, who is also President of the Metropole, to initiate a “mobility shock”. One aspect of this policy is the “red zone” or “30-minute zone”. Delivery drivers and motorists can park free of charge for 30 min- utes in the zone concerned, after registering at a pay and display machine or via an appli- cation, and are liable to a 35 euros fine if they exceed the time limit. The red zone thus offers very short-term parking spaces used for deliveries and by residents who need to use their car to get to a shop. Among the most significant decisions taken to implement this policy are the intro- duction of free public transport for all resi- dents of the Metropole, the development of the cycling network and the lowering of the speed limit to 30 km/h. This change, initiated in 2022, illustrates the possibility of changing the parking strip on the basis of a simple deliberation, with- out waiting for a hypothetical future de- criminalisation of delivery areas. The num- ber of red zones has risen from the original 8 to 20, and there will soon be 30. There is strong demand for more, particularly from shopkeepers, but these zones are not suita- ble everywhere and it is important to know how to introduce them in the right propor- tions. Challenge for both operators and local authorities As parking enforcement becomes more ef- fective, the side effects can become more significant. This is a challenge for both oper- ators and local authorities. The FNMS has studied these effects in order to propose so- lutions. With regard to fraudulent parking for people with reduced mobility or disruptive parking in delivery bays, local authorities can carry out a project to convert parking spaces into blue zones or stop-and-go zones, which means that paid parking can be en- forced there, since these spaces are no long- er subject to the criminal law. Other types of use of the parking strip merit consideration: spaces reserved for re- charging electric vehicles, for public services or cash-in-transit, for terraces, works or re- movals, etc. Rather than waiting for a change in the regulations, the dual swearing-in of controllers, who would be empowered to control both paid and unpaid parking, is an interesting approach. Summary In conclusion, the decriminalisation of park- ing has led to an increase in spontaneous payment, but has also led to various forms of fraud. To deal with this, we need to imple- ment comprehensive management of the parking strip, which does not necessarily mean adopting new regulations for each category of space. There are pragmatic and flexible solutions available to local authori- ties, provided they think in terms of a mobil- ity policy for the whole area and mobilise the technologies available. ■ Parking trend international | no. 1-2024 37