Not sure if this only applies to Basel, or if across all of Switzerland.
Until recently we had both white and blue parking boxes in our local street.
My understanding of these is/was:
White - can park for as long as you like, with or without a permit and no need to show/set the cardboard clock and place it on the dashboard.
Blue - Monday - Saturday between the hours of 07:00-19:00 and you don't have a residents permit, you have to place the cardboard clock on the dash and can park for 90 mins.
If you have a permit (cost CHF140) then you can can park for as long as like.
If you have guests at your home who traveled by car, then they can buy a parking ticket from the tram machines or on line.
Recently some new signs appeared several hundred meters from our house, with a blue and white line across the road.
I was advised this now means that the white boxes no longer apply and all parking spaces are now treated as blue ... and this applies across all of Basel.
Thought I would share, as I'm sure that the discreetly placed signs may be missed and people could end up getting fined for parking in a white box with no permit and/or for too long.
White is also used for charged by the hour parking spaces throughout switzerland.
It will be posted by signs and there will be one or several parking meters within the proximity. In which case you will need to leave the parking ticket visible on your dashboard or risk a fine.
The rules are fairly common across Switzerland, and have been in place for several years now!
When you drive across 2 solid lines in the road (one blue, one white, & close together) you are entering (or if driving the other way - leaving!) a controlled parking area. Usually as a visitor you need to pay for the on-street parking.
Residents have the option of buying a parking permit. There will also be signs at the entrances to the controlled parking area detailing the time restrictions.
This is generally the case but I have seen areas where the person checking the discs told me the time limit was actually 1 hour (likewise, some areas have 90 mins, other 2 hours). Guess better to make sure in advance.
By default the rule is one hour - rounded up to the next half hour. So depending when you arrive it's between 60 and 90 minutes.
The instructions are on the blue disc you (need to) have in your car.
As in all parking cases, there could be a sign saying something specific. I've mainly seen this in very busy areas (shorter times allowed) or more rural areas obviously designed for walkers (longer times allowed).
Not wanting to start my own thread, I'm reviving this one...
I have on-street parking for my car with a Basel permit. I want to know what happens when my car is parked where someone puts up private temporary "no parking" cones (for moving day, etc) and I am not around to move my car?
For instance, the cones are usually put up 3-4 days in advance of the date needed but I could be on a two-week holiday and have no idea.
At the Basel English Panto we put cones out 48 hours before we need them. On the day, if someone is parked in our place - just outside the Scala Theatre on Freiestrasse, we first try to locate them - they're usually doing deliveries - and politely request them to move. Sometimes people are parked there and there's a phone number on the van, so we call that up and tell them to tell their staff to hop it. If all else fails, we call the police, and they issue a ticket. Or most likely, it being the centre of Basel, we ask a police officer nearby to issue a ticket.
In a residential area, if someone is away, my understanding is that there's not much can be done.
Just out of curiosity. Our car was parked on the street and today two "no parking" cones went up around it. We are leaving in a week for a multi-week holiday, and I wondered what would have happened if we had not been around to move the car.
I think this depends on the officialness of the signs or people dealing with the posts. I got a 40chf fine for parking in a part of the blue area after 7am when it was scheduled for trees to be trimmed. I just didn’t get up in time so I got to my car at 7:15am. Fine already there with police at my car! I assume this is because the tree cutters where council employees but I’m not sure for removals etc which aren’t official entinteis. I guess they could always apply or get council permission for the block off of a blue zone?
After this happening I always take my car to the airport and use airport parking. Gives peace of mind especially in times of snow where snow piles up and can leave the car as a heap in the road if not touched.
Happened to us in Zurich. We went on holiday for 3 weeks. In that time they put up the signs.
The police towed our car away and when we came home we thought it had been nicked so we called the police who took the licence plate and said ‘oh we’ve got it; it was parked in a no parking area.’
We could go and collect it for no charge as we could provide proof that we were away when the signs went up.
BTW: How does it work outside of towns on small regional roads e.g. in the mountains? Can you just park by the road if you want to go for a hike, like is normal in many countries?
Yes, as long as you're not parking on the footpath or on private property and obeying the usual rules relating to distance from a corner, not blocking driveways, etc., etc., etc.
You'd be surprised, though, how many apparently remote locations are liberally sprinkled with parking regulation signs. Often there's no need, or opportunity, to make your own decisions about where to park.
Agreed, there is not so much places with no parking places / regulations.
However, if the place is ̈remote enough ̈ you can park on the side of the road if you don't hamper the traffic/pedestrians and if you don't cross a full line (yellow or white) or not on a private property.