Tracking Parking Search and Occupancy in Zurich

Abstract

This article describes how parking search times and occupancy in a highly attractive area in central Zurich (Switzerland) develop on a weekday morning when a farmer’s market takes place on Bürkliplatz, a central market place inside the study area. Individual vehicles were tracked by bike, drivers were interviewed about their parking behaviour and their route was tracked using GPS. Additionally, the parking occupancy was registered every fifteen minutes during a five-hour time period. A connection between market opening hours and parking dynamics within the perimeter was observed. Drivers usually overestimate their parking search duration.