Altstetten's Parking War: 240 Spaces to Go for Bike Lanes
Zürich's Altstetten West is set to lose around 240 parking spaces as the city pushes ahead with its voter-approved cycling network expansion — and the local business community is not taking it quietly.
Of 388 spaces in the area, the city plans to remove 224 blue-zone and 16 white-zone spots. The Zürich trade association's president, Mitte National Councillor Nicole Barandun, put it bluntly: residents of Altstetten may as well list their cars on Ricardo.
Her concern is practical. Tradespeople — plumbers, electricians, installers — depend on parking close to their clients. If that disappears, jobs get harder and slower, costs rise, and those costs eventually land with tenants in the form of pricier repairs and services.
A partial fix had been in the works: an expanded trade parking permit that would have allowed tradespeople to park on pavements when necessary. That solution has been stuck in court since autumn 2025, challenged by pedestrian associations, with no resolution in sight.
The broader dynamic is familiar Zürich politics: a cycling infrastructure mandate with genuine democratic backing running headlong into the unglamorous logistical realities of a city that still runs on vans and tools.
