The coach parking and guidance system of the City of Dresden is understood as a system able to react individually, flexibly and dynamically to the needs of coach traffic in the city.

This conception is founded on the implemented system components and functions.

Tasks, objectives, system

The tasks of the coach parking and guidance system are firstly to guide coaches to the boarding and alighting points at their tourist destinations without unnecessary detours and, where possible, avoiding sensitive areas of the city, and secondly to direct the drivers to the nearby waiting and parking areas provided specially for tourist coaches. At the same time, a careful choice of routes should serve to keep the unavoidable emissions along the major traffic routes to a minimum.

The declared objectives are to reduce problematical roaming searches by coach drivers, in the interest of the tourists and of the Dresden traffic situation in general, to prevent false parking and thereby to guarantee orderly and safe alighting and boarding for the passengers at the main points of tourist interest around the city.

Simply speaking, the coach parking and guidance system of the City of Dresden constitutes a city-wide network of parking and waiting areas specially for coaches, linked and intercon-nected by means of appropriate signposting. The parking and waiting areas are assigned to various sights and tourist destinations, and are designated in accordance with the individual intended length of stay for the coaches.

The system components are thus categorised on the basis of traffic management requirements into:

• coach stopping places,

• coach terminals,

• coach waiting points,

• coach parking,

• coach routing and

• coach service centres.

The background to this differentiation of the various locations is the aim of effective utilisation of the available parking space through coordination of the time spent by individual coaches at the tourist sights and destinations, in order to guarantee that an acceptable number of coaches is able to stop at each of the places concerned. The defined maximum parking du-rations are determined by the nature of the particular location (duration of guided visits, typi-cal length of time spent by tourists in a certain area, starting points for walking tours) and in accordance with other aspects of traffic management. The coach driver is not expected to make such distinctions himself. For the driver, the coach parking and guidance system is to be perceived as a chain of parking arrangements with different lengths of permitted stay and different levels of facilities, as a basis for maximum clarity and user-friendliness.

The coach routing system, finally, provides recommendations as to the most favourable choice of route from the point of view of time and distance, in order to avoid unnecessary searches, complicated turning manoeuvres or passages through sensitive (residential) areas of the city.

The network of routes and stopping places is supplemented by service centres with facilities for coaches, which are able to offer the drivers technical assistance in the case of a break-down or other difficulty.

System function

The coach parking and guidance system is intended to function by directing the arriving coaches from the motorway junctions or incoming trunk roads to the city centre coach termi-nals (e.g. “Am Zwingerteich”) or to another nearby stopping place. At this stopping place or terminal, either the passengers alight, or else a city guide joins the party to commence a planned city tour. Information is similarly available at these locations regarding the routes to other parking and waiting areas.

In the first case, the coach stops for at most the designated maximum parking duration at the stopping point or terminal concerned, and then moves on without delay to the planned or nearest coach parking area. The most convenient route to this parking area is signposted.

The vehicle remains at the coach parking area, during which time the driver is able to per-form any necessary minor maintenance or cleaning. The coach driver waits for a telephone request to collect his tourist group again at the coach stopping point or terminal and pro-ceeds to the agreed meeting point. The group will already have gathered there and can board the coach to continue its journey without delay.

One alternative to this function principle is for the driver to head for a so-called coach waiting point. In this case, it is possible to park the coach for a defined period of time and to wait at the same place for the travel group to return and continue its journey.

Overall, it remains the decision of the tour or city guide, how a Dresden tour is planned, which points of interest are to be visited and in which order they are to be combined. It is precisely this high degree of individuality and flexibility which characterises the Dresden coach parking and guidance system. The system in Dresden is not a system of arbitrary con-trol, but rather an instrument to offer optimum and freely available support for coach-borne visitors.

The particular dynamic character of the Dresden coach parking and guidance system is to be seen above all in the possibility to provide temporary coach stopping points and parking areas at tourism focal points both quickly and by simple means. In connection with the con-secration of the Dresden Frauenkirche in October 2005, for example, additional stopping points will be signposting to enable visitors arriving by coach to alight as closely as possible to the church. A similar principle is already implemented each year for visitors to the “Striezelmarkt” Christmas market.

If more extensive repairs or maintenance are required, the driver can in the meantime take his vehicle to one of the above-mentioned coach service centres, where comprehensive technical assistance is available.

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The Coach Parking and Guidance System of the City of Dresden - individual, flexibile, dynamic

Coach parking areas

... are areas designated specifically for the parking of tourist coaches over a longer period of time, which distinguishes them from the previously mentioned stopping and waiting points. They provide parking for coaches during a day visit (or even longer) and offer a basic level of services for the coach drivers and for passengers remaining with their coach.

Facilities:
The coach parking areas are to be provided with adequate (mobile or stationary) toilet and waste disposal facilities, insofar as no such facilities are present in the immediate vicinity and expressly available for use by the described clientele. In the latter case, information is to be provided in suitable form for users of the coach parking area (e. g. informa-tion boards).

Coach parking areas must provide appropriate areas protected from wind and weather for the drivers and any passengers remaining with their coach (rest and relaxation areas, where possible with facilities for snacks/refreshments). The provision of corresponding information boards, furniture (possibly covered seats or benches) and ticket machines for the local public transport system is desirable (possibility for drivers and remaining coach passengers to leave the parking area, e.g. for shopping or other errands). Coach parking areas should generally be provided with sufficient illumination, as well as water and electricity supply points.

If there are not already trees providing adequate shade at a particular location, then appro-priate new plantings are to be planned.

Status of implementation:
The locations envisaged in the concept are available; the standard of facilities provided is still not uniform.

Coach waiting points

... in the sense of the present concept are less extensive parking facilities which available at certain points around the city to enable coaches to park for a number of hours (recommended limita-tion to 2 - 3 hours), but not for all-day parking, as well as to enable tourists to be set down and picked up. These waiting points should provide adequate shade where possible. If necessary, new or additional trees are to be planted.

Facilities:
If there are not already trees providing adequate shade at a particular location, then appro-priate new plantings are to be planned.

Status of implementation:
Of the ten locations envisaged in the concept, six have already been realised, and a seventh is approaching completion.

Coach stopping places ... are boarding and alighting points to enable tourists to be set down and picked up, (pref-erably) with a minimum of delay, close to points of tourist interest. It is intended that the coaches are stopped here for no more than 15 - 20 minutes, and that merely to set down or pick up tourist groups which have already gathered in full numbers. Such stopping points are not provided – and are also not suitable – to serve as places to wait over longer periods for “missing” passengers, and in doing so to hinder subsequently arriving coaches or produce unne-cessary queues. The locations are to be selected such that, on the one hand, short and attractive walking access to the tourist sights can be offered, but at the same time must en-sure that the waiting coaches do not hinder the remaining traffic and/or detract from the tour-ist experience of the historical architectural ensembles through their relatively large size (e. g. disturbance of integral lines of sight between individual buildings).

Facilities:
Seating and provision of information

Status of implementation:
Of the seven locations envisaged in the concept, four have already been realised, and a fifth has been designated by the traffic authorities.

Coach terminals ... are central congregating points for tourist coaches with places for short-stay parking (dura-tion of parking should be limited to max. 30 minutes), which in addition to their function as boarding and alighting areas for tourist groups also offer an incoming service to arriving tour-ists. This incoming service is understood to mean a location (pavilion or rooms integrated into a local building) serving to welcome tourists to the City of Dresden.

Facilities:
The facilities of a terminal should correspond to those of a tourist information centre: Coach passengers should be able to purchase tourist articles (city plans and brochures, but also tickets, etc.) and possibly also a small range of travel snacks and refreshments, meet their city guide or wait to be picked up again by their coach. Toilet facilities are to be considered an essential element. Further-more, it should be possible to provide the coach drivers with information relevant to their needs (e. g. information regarding the coach parking and guid-ance system, the Dresden road network in general, etc.).

If there are not already trees providing adequate shade at a particular location, then appro-priate new plantings are to be planned.

Status of implementation:
The envisaged coach terminal has not yet been realised. The City Council of the City of Dresden, however, has formulated an assignment to establish such a terminal for the City Jubilee in 2006. It is intended to make use of existing structures (functional buildings) in the Dresden city centre, rather than erecting a new building. Corresponding steps have been initiated.

Coach service centres ... are understood to be technical service facilities for coaches and their drivers, performing above all technical maintenance services and minor repairs, as well as permitting refuelling of the vehicles (insofar as this is not already possible at publicly accessible service stations).

Facilities:
The facilities are to be based on those of the (motorway) service areas for commercial vehi-cles and the fleet centres/workshops of the coach operators themselves. Personal services for the coach drivers – including toilets, showers, relaxation lounges, etc. – are essential.

Status of implementation:
The two service centres recommended in the concept are available. It is to be mentioned in this connection, that the City of Dresden, not least for technical and economic reasons, relies here on the existing maintenance and service potential, as well as the technical know-how of the major local providers of such services. The cooperation with these providers is the solution which presently promises the highest level of services to the coach drivers.

Coach routing ... in the context of this concept refers to the signposting of routes for coaches (static guidance system) to the coach terminal and then from the coach terminal to the designated coach parking. The coaches are to be routed to the terminal and parking facilities exclusively via the network of main roads. The signposting via the main roads indicates the most effective route to the terminal and on to a designated parking area/service centre, choosing the most favourable variant with regard to the time required and the general local traffic situation. It is to be aligned to the exist-ing systematic organisation and integrated with existing signposting systems. The detailed elaboration of this system is necessarily dependent on realisation of the associated location concepts and must thus be coordinated with the latter. For this reason, this system compo-nent is to be elaborated parallel to the implementation of the individual locations.