Car traffic in the UNESCO site in Toruń

The medieval urban complex in Toruń, an area inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, has been designated a "residential zone". This means that pedestrians have absolute priority and can use the entire width of the streets, while cars are limited to a maximum speed of 20 km/h and can park only in designated spaces (approximately 790 spaces have been designated there).

However, the reality is different.
Every tourist entering the UNESCO site in Toruń is unpleasantly surprised by the huge number of cars parked and driving in violation of these regulations, even in particularly attractive tourist spots such as Copernicus House, the Leaning Tower, the Teutonic Castle, and many others. This significantly impedes pedestrian movement and prevents free exploration and a full appreciation of the historic city. Many streets in this area (except for Różana Street, the Old Town Market Square (Rynek Staromiejski), Szeroka Street, and Królowej Jadwigi Street) unfortunately allow car traffic, despite the high pedestrian traffic volume, despite the Old Town streets' inadequacy for modern motorized transportation, despite the principles of protecting historic monuments from harmful impacts, and despite the city authorities' adoption of the Tourism Development Strategy for Toruń and the Toruń City Development Strategy, which, among other things, assume the elimination of car traffic from Toruń's historic center.

Examples of European cities show that enlightened and conscious officials are significantly restricting car traffic in city centers, especially in areas protected by UNESCO World Heritage List. In Toruń, however, the mentality of officials and decision-makers still seems to stem from a bygone era and fail to keep pace with contemporary trends regarding priorities in the development and operation of transportation in city centers. Worse still, these officials disregard the aforementioned current strategies-documents adopted for implementation many years ago.

The streets in this area are covered by the Paid Parking Zone. Parking on the streets of the Old Town and the New Town is paid from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM on weekdays adn Saturdays. Parking is free on Sundays, and public holidays.

The UNESCO World Heritage Site in Toruń covers an area of ​​48 hectares and is not large enough to require a car. The best option is to walk after arriving by public transport or car and leave it in one of the car parks.