Automatic drive-through check In Birsfelden, non-residents may only register one car
In Birsfelden BL, the automatic drive-through check continues to make headlines. While locals are allowed to register several cars, out-of-town property owners only get one permit.
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- In Birsfelden, hundreds of drivers are fined every day if they drive through the district without a permit.
- Owners who live outside the municipality are only allowed to put one vehicle on the so-called white list, whereas locals are allowed to put several.
- This rule causes displeasure among property owners from outside the municipality.
Anyone who drives through Birsfelden BL for less than 15 minutes without a permit will be fined. Over 1000 drivers are caught every day, which has already cost the municipality hundreds of thousands of francs.
However, anyone who owns a property in Birsfelden is on a so-called white list. This contains those license plates that are exempt from the automatic drive-through check. Registered vehicles are allowed to spend less than 15 minutes in the neighborhood streets without being fined.
This drive-through regulation is a source of annoyance for property owners from out of town. Hans Schibler lives in Muttenz, but owns two apartment buildings in the municipality. According to the ordinance, he is only allowed to have one of his vehicles placed on the so-called white list - even though he owns several cars.
"The municipality is effectively dictating which vehicle I can use to visit my properties," Schibler criticizes to theBasler Zeitungnewspaper.
While residents of Birsfelden can theoretically register several cars, only one permit per person applies to non-resident owners. Schibler does not agree with this and would like to register all his vehicles. But the municipality says no.
"The municipal council has decided to prioritize residents"
Municipal administrator Martin Schürmann justifies the restriction with practical considerations: "Many properties belong to institutional owners. If they all registered several vehicles, this would greatly increase traffic in the neighborhood," he tells the newspaper.
The fact that non-resident owners are treated differently is a deliberate decision: "The municipal council has decided to prioritize residents. The regulation is aimed at through traffic, not residents."
Schürmann also states: "In principle, property owners can drive as many vehicles into the neighborhoods as they want. You simply have to drive out again at the same place where you drove in." Then you don't need a permit and you won't be fined.
