Frequently I stop on the sidewalk outside our apartment block, mostly to load/unload the baby in/from the car. The whole process, including putting the stroller in the trunk, doesn't take more than 10mins. Last but not least, I always leave enough space, so that pedestrians can pass by, without having to bypass the car using the road.
The road is not a busy one, it's a 30 km/h area, but it's a single biderictional lane. Or, to be more precise, it does fit two cars, but usually one will be riding the sidewalk to avoid getting their driver's mirror "kissed". So, when I stop on the sidewalk, and two cars are coming, one will have to completely stop and wait, until the other passes by.
I was told a couple years ago that if you are to stop (not park, apparently) on a sidewalk, the law requires you to leave at least half a meter space (so that you don't disturb the pedestrians). At the same time you shouldn't disturb the traffic either. As I said I do leave enough space, but some pedestrians are still getting irritated - even when they see that it's about loading/unloading a baby, and the engine is still running. I never got a complaint from a driver.
Long story short, is there any actual law about this 0.5m space when stopping on sidewalks? Or is it completely illegal?
Leaving the engine running is probably just as illegal as not leaving enough space, to my thinking, for which I have no source.
I'm partially sighted and people driving on the sidewalk is one of the things I dislike. Sometimes it's all four wheels up and by the frequency I wonder if it's somehow allowed here in Switzerland.
1.5 m according to this :
Agree with Landers that leaving the engine running is probably a no-no, too. Might also affect an insurance claim if someone drives off in it.
Parking on the pavement is forbidden unless signs explicitly allow it.
Leaving the engine running is also illegal.
It used to be that at a traffic light or at a road crossing drivers must switch off their engines to avoid pollution I do not know if that still applies. I have had the experience of pedestrians knocking on the window and yelling "Switch off".
Does that mean that if the engine is off, then stopping (2-wheel on, enough space for pedestrians) is allowed?
Also to be on the same page, parking is like... parking (for hours), as if it was a white/blue zone. Stopping is short-term "parking" to drop off a box, load a baby etc. Right?
For the law, it seems the problems are: a potential accident, vehicle theft and the “noise” of the engine running for no reason
https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1…1420/fr#art_33
If someone cares, it’s a 60 CHF fine:
https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/2019/93/fr
So, plenty of reasons for people to get irritated. For me, it would be unnecessary risk of the vehicle accidentally moving and hurting someone. It’s OK to turn the engine off, put it into Parking/1st gear and use the parking break. Cars are built to do this, nothing is going to break.
You should leave 1.5 m of space to pedestrians also when you stop, not 0.5 m. The fine is 80 CHF instead of 120 CHF since you are not parked (2. Fermata sul marciapiede senza lasciar libero un passaggio di almeno 1,50 m per i pedoni (art. 41 cpv. 1bis ONC).
As you say in this case common sense should prevail considering it is a 30 kmh zone, if foot traffic is low. What you should definitely do is turn off the engine, people might be irritated to have to walk close to a running car and hearing the engine running idle for 10 minutes.
Parking yes, stopping to load/unload no.
What you describe is unloading, not parking. But switch the engine off.
People who live there will be irritated, not the accidental by-walkers. It's the same as with honking, it does not only affect other cars and people on the street, but everybody in the neighbouring area. I used to live in a house next to a junction where traffic signs were a bit ambiguous, the result was a horn concert every F'ing morning.
How can anyone think idling their engine for 10 mins is acceptable is beyond my comprehension. I hope electric cars will solve this issue soon.
It should be room for wheelchairs and mobility devices.
Why don't you just stop on the road then? The same level of inconvenience for other drivers, no problem for pedestrians. Bonus: it's legal.
Also, imagine if someone else was trying to walk down that sidewalk with a baby stroller. I don't think 50 cm would be wide enough for many strollers to easily get through. So it doesn't really makes sense for the OP to potentially force someone else to have to go into the street just so she (or he) can more easily unload their own baby.
I'm confused - what do you do then? Leave the baby on the pavement alone when you go and park the car or go to work?
If you are going to park the car, why not unload the baby and stroller there and stroll back to your apartment with the stroller?
I was actually just wondering the same thing.
Perhaps the child's other parent is waiting outside the apartment block? Or an older sibling?
Actually I was thinking that maybe they don't live together - or the baby is at someone else's place and the OP has no right to park there so she has to collect the baby, and the stroller and put the stroller, and the baby, in the car.
But then I read that it's their apartment block...
In that case, where do they park their car?
I know dealing with babies and strollers is (or can be) a huge pain-in-ze-arse, though. I remember having to carry our little guy up flights of stairs to a 3rd floor apartment when he was a baby, before we moved. That was fun... and especially while also having a bunch of groceries.
I have wondered before how people in our apartment community manage with strollers if they park in the garage, which you can only get to or from via narrow flights of stairs. I suppose they have to instead walk through the garage and open the big garage door to get out with a stroller.
Block and tackle up to the balcony...
To summ all up.
Is parking on the side walk allowed? No, only if specifically permitted. Fines start from CHF 40.
Is stopping for loading/unloading on the side walk allowed? Yes, if not explicitly ( no stopping sign ) or implicitly forbidden (not enough space, closer than 5m to an intersection, …) . Fines start from CHF 80.
But:
You must leave 1.5 m for the pedestrians, if the side walk has a width of less than 1.5m you cannot stop on it at all. In addition you must leave 3 m for the cars, 6m in case of a main road (blue destination signs and the square fried egg ).
Further, you should, no must, switch off the engine and drive away once you have finished your loading/unloading task w/o unnecessary delay.