In this situation, are you permitted to stop your vehicle on the pavement within 3 metres of the visible bus shelter?

In the photo you are driving along a street with tram tracks in the city centre; on the right, on the pavement, there is a shelter of a tram and bus stop with signs D-17 and D-15. You are not entitled to stop the vehicle on the pavement 3 m from this shelter. The answer is: no.

The Road Traffic Act prohibits stopping a vehicle less than 15 m from the post or board marking a stop, and at a stop with a lay-by - along its whole length. Three metres from the shelter is much less than 15 m from the stop signs, so stopping at this point is prohibited - and it does not matter whether you would stop on the roadway or on the pavement, because the Act allows stopping on the pavement with the wheels on one side only when there is no ban on stopping on that section. The purpose is to give passengers getting on and off the tram free space and a clear view, and to give the tram and other vehicles free access. You stop only at least 15 m beyond the stop sign, where there are no other prohibitions.

Legal basis: Art. 49 para. 1 point 9 and Art. 47 para. 1 point 1 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym); § 51 para. 1 of the Regulation on road signs and signals