Know Your Locale: "The Day on Your Street"
Navigating street parking in the city core sans smartphone can prove quite tricky.
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Sign up for the newsletter for freeThe contentious decision of the local committee to abolish parking machines and implement mobile app-only payment for parking in public areas has sparked debate. Nevertheless, whether you agree with this decision or not, the city center still offers multiple ways to pay for parking with cash and/or card, as confirmed by Friedrich Bacmeister, Green Party representative.
A guest post by Friedrich Bacmeister (The Greens)
In our words
The committee's decision to dismantle parking machines and move towards mobile app parking payments from 2026 has been a hot topic, with local media outlets like WDR reporting on it on television and radio. The news first broke on Bürgerportal and KSTA.
The committee made its ruling last week and, generally, followed the proposals made by the city administration in regards to dismantling the parking machines. However, at the request of the Greens, the administration should introduce the possibility of "pickerls" as an alternative, much like the Viennese custom. Users would have to purchase these tickets in advance. This feature eliminates the need to search for change, ensuring a hassle-free payment experience.
To gauge whether the removal of parking machines leads to the marginalization of fellow citizens who lack a mobile device, I took a tour of the city center.
Let's begin with the Buchmühle parking lot. As depicted by WDR, there is a city-owned machine here that is scheduled for removal. The parking lot is conveniently located, easily accessible either via the Laurentiusstraße or Mittlere Hauptstraße, adjacent to the library.
The parking lot enjoys popularity: during peak hours, it's often fully occupied. According to the decision, parking here will only be mobile app or pickerl payment-ready in the future - we hope nearby businesses will also offer these tickets.
However, there are alternative parking spots nearby for cash-paying parkers:
Entering from the Odenthaler Straße, the parking garage located behind Buchmühle park (adjacent to the Kieser training) can be reached. This parking garage offers options for coin insertion, token use, or card payment.
Situated closer to the shopping area is the Marienkrankenhaus parking garage. Although primarily intended for patients, visitors, and hospital staff, it offers roughly 150 parking spaces across five levels. Payment is only possible with cash here: the machine can be accessed via the elevator, located in the so-called ground floor, and only accepts banknotes.
Next, I headed towards the roundabout near Schnabelsmühle, popularly known as the turbo roundabout. Here, the administration manages two parking spaces: a smaller one directly in front of the town hall and a double parking deck on the other side of the roundabout, between the two access roads from the Bensberger street.
These parking spaces aren't frequented often by residents but are preferred by city administration employees. An affected machine is slated for removal according to the decision. Pickerl parking is still possible – and should continue to be so without prior planning during "bread time" in the citizen's office.
Additional cash-friendly parking is available at the parking garage located in front of the Bergischer Lion. Accessible from all directions shortly after the turbo roundabout, it offers two machines: one accepts cash only (photo), while the other accommodates both cash and card payments. To sum it up, cash-only parking is still possible here.
Moving on, parking can now be found at "Gohrsmühle", on the Zanders site – under the conditions set by city regulations.
Alternatively, the parking garage in the Rhein-Berg-Galerie can be reached. Boasting a bright and well-lit entrance on three levels, it offers more than 500 parking spaces. At the exit, there is a machine that accepts cash (photo) – behind the wheel, there are machines that accept both cash and card payments.
My final destination was the area behind the train station, currently only accessible through Jakobstraße (or the right turn-off from Stationsstraße) due to the closure of Johann-Wilhelm-Lindlar-Straße. The temporary city parking lot, regularly used for S-Bahn drop-offs and pick-ups, sees its fair share of action here. It represents the last location affected by the decision.
What are the options for cash payers in this case? Immediately behind the parking lot stands the Rhein-Berg-Passage parking garage, with an elevator and approximately 300 parking spaces inside the former Marktkauf. Here too, the machine offers both cash and card payment (photo).
Conveniently located only 100 meters away is the LöwenCityCenter underground parking garage – the focus here is on cash payments (photo).
For daily shopping needs, both the parking garages under DM/Denn's and Kaufland offer cash and card payment options.
My conclusion: Despite the city administration removing old cash machines due to high maintenance costs, vandalism, and low usage rates, various parking options remain accessible for residents uncomfortable with digital payment methods.
The city administration's decision to phase out parking machines and transition to mobile app or pickerl payments has affected several parking lots in the city center. To accommodating those who prefer cash, options like the parking garage located behind Buchmühle park and the Rhein-Berg-Passage parking garage still offer cash payment options. However, after 2026 when the transition is complete, the finance industry may see growth as more citizens adapt to digital mobile payment methods, which could also have implications for the transportation sector as well, as the efficiency of paying for parking through apps can improve the overall transportation system.
