As part of the NXTLVL Parking project , the municipality of Prettau successfully completed the ParkPAD Audit in January 2025. Together with representatives from politics, administration, and associations, existing parking policies were analyzed, and new ideas and concepts were discussed to improve the current situation.
The discussions in Prettau exposed the following challenges:
- Illegal parking is a problem: Visitors park wherever they can find space, even if there is no dedicated car park.
- The dilemma with enforcing parking regulations: Prettau has no dedicated policeman, so the revenue from parking offences done by external police officers cannot go directly to the municipality but is transferred to the Ministry of Finance in Rome. In Prettau / Kasern there are overall too many tourists – advertise less, if possible.
- Shifting the journey by private car to public transport only works to a limited extent. Prettau is confronted with too many guests (over-tourism). At times when the last day visitors leave the municipality in the late afternoon, bus capacities are too low. Many guests and locals then must wait for the next bus. There is already a bus every 15 minutes from Bruneck to Prettau.
- Day tourists are taken to Prettau / Kasern in organized buses. There are not enough parking spaces for these buses.
The following priorities for action were identified:
- Better organization of mobility for day tourists
- Making the Kasern district car-free
- Improving public transport at peak times
It has been decided that the pilot actions during the project will focus on the problem of illegal parking and on infrastructure for bicycles starting with multiple bike-racks. With these priorities in mind, Prettau aims to create a more sustainable and efficient parking system that enhances mobility while addressing the impact of tourism. The findings from the ParkPAD Audit will guide the municipality’s next steps in shaping its parking and mobility policies.