The multi-storey car park in Lahnstraße was officially opened on 16.09.1994. Yesterday (21.09.2004), the partners involved in the car park drew a positive balance after 10 years of operation:
- The city of Giessen as the owner,
- Stadtwerke Gießen AG (SWG) as the operator,
- the railway, which provided the land, and
- the Federal Border Guard, which guards the car park. All those present emphasised the good cooperation between the partners.
"The Lahnstraße multi-storey car park is a success story, even if we had some teething problems at the beginning. It took some time before the car park was really accepted. But today it is 95% full during the week," says city treasurer Dr Volker Kölb. Many of the 421 parking spaces on three floors are rented out to long-term parkers. Around 200 parking spaces alone are used by annual pass holders. There are also monthly and weekly ticket parkers. At weekends, however, there are still many empty spaces.
"We are proud that we can take over the commercial and technical management of the car park for the city at a reasonable price. After all, our round-the-clock network control centre offers the ideal conditions for this," said Manfred Siekmann, Chairman of the SWG Management Board. Incidentally, more and more cities and municipalities are also making use of this network control centre, e.g. for water operations management.
The Lahnstraße multi-storey car park is specially designed for rail commuters. It is directly connected to the railway tracks via a pedestrian bridge. The women's parking spaces on the upper car park level make it more convenient and safer for women. In general, a lot has been done for security. 25 permanently installed cameras, which are monitored by SWG, are an important component. These cameras can also be viewed from the railway station. In addition, officers from the Federal Border Guard patrol the car park decks.
Outside the car park decks, there are 38 parking spaces (mainly intended for motorhomes and vehicles with high roofs) and 36 short-term parking spaces with a maximum parking time of 2 hours.
The day ticket costs three euros, provided it has been punched at Giessen station. Otherwise, the day ticket costs eight euros. The price for a weekly ticket is nine euros, for a monthly ticket 23 euros and for an annual ticket 230 euros. Incidentally, bicycles and motorbikes can be parked free of charge. An hour in the short-term car parks costs 25 cents. Weekly and monthly tickets are available from the railway travel centre at Giessen station. Annual tickets are issued by SWG. Contact person is Robert Stein, Tel. 0641 708-1474.