Cologne is planning a parking range in Weiden-West: 350 bicycle spaces for commuters!

Cologne is planning a parking range in Weiden-West: 350 bicycle spaces for commuters!

The city of Cologne is committed to sustainably improving the parking situation in Weiden-West. There are plans to build a new parking range here, which will not only create space for cars, but also offer 350 bicycle parking spaces. An important project for commuters and travelers from Pulheim, Frechen and the surrounding area who want to use the good connections to the S-Bahn and tram. The location is a popular transfer point for the KVB line 1, which offers a direct connection to the center of Cologne, as well as for the S-Bahn lines S12 and S19 and various bus services. This information has Radio Erft compiled.

The project costs are estimated at 21 million euros, a large part of which could be reduced through funding. The idea is to reduce the contribution of the city of Cologne and the Cologne transport company (KVB) from the original 10 million euros to around 3 million euros. These savings would be possible through increased funding, which will be decided in the next few weeks. The Cologne City Council will vote on the plans at the beginning of September.

Integration of bicycle parking spaces

The new parking range is to be financed through cleverly planned conversions of car parking spaces into bicycle parking spaces. Instead of the originally planned 120 parking spaces in a bike tower, which were rejected due to high costs, the plan is now to convert 66 car parking spaces into around 130 bicycle boxes and over 200 additional parking spaces. A separate access route for cyclists is also planned to make switching to public transport more attractive for both car and cyclists. The city of Cologne commissioned the KVB with planning in 2021, which is now leading to concrete progress, such as stadt-koeln.de reported.

The use of environmentally friendly means of transport such as bicycles and public transport is constantly increasing. Nevertheless, there is often a lack of suitable, weather-protected parking facilities, especially at train stations. Loud BMV There is a need for up to 1.5 million additional bicycle parking spaces in Germany alone. The funding that supports the planning in Cologne is on average around 55 million euros for the period 2024 to 2027 and is part of a larger project to improve the cycling infrastructure.

Outlook and next steps

The design planning for the parking range has been completed and preparations are in full swing. A building permit is currently being obtained, followed by detailed implementation planning and construction work. The annual operating costs for the KVB are estimated at around 205,000 euros. If the Cologne City Council agrees with the plans, the general contractor can begin work on the bicycle parking facility directly. This could be an important step towards a modern, diverse mobility landscape in Cologne.

So many construction sites, so many opportunities. The city of Cologne has a good knack for further encouraging the switch to environmentally friendly means of transport. Commuters can be excited about the developments surrounding the parking range in Weiden-West.