Pedestrian zones are the ideal environment for urban life, both for tourists and for local residents. In the West, pedestrian zones as a rule include only streets and squares, but in St. Petersburg they should also include yards. It's important to note that apartments in buildings whose yards are car-free (for example on Malaya Sadovaya) bring much higher prices than identical apartments in buildings whose yards serve as parking lots.
St. Petersburg has already built several pedestrian zones, but most of them are plagued by unauthorized car traffic and parking.
The sidewalk should be used only by pedestrians. But the Russian Rules of Road Traffic allow parking on the sidewalk, where it "will not block the movement of pedestrians". This is legal nonsense, inasmuch as the idea of "blocking the movement of pedestrians" is not defined anywhere. In fact, parking on the sidewalk always can block the movement of pedestrians, especially when they are walking in groups. Parking on the sidewalk should be clearly forbidden, as is practiced in the West.