Riding a bike is one of the safest ways to get around in public in times of "social distancing". But even before the Corona crisis, cyclists were part of Frankfurt's everyday cityscape in large numbers. Everyone who rides a bike in the city knows one problem: finding a suitable place to park it. In order to make Frankfurt more attractive for cyclists, more and more covered, double-storey parking facilities have been installed at highly frequented places such as the Konstablerwache.
Another of these parking facilities has now been installed at the Höchster Marktplatz. This provides orderly spaces for 32 bikes. "When our normal everyday life has returned after the Corona pandemic, the parking spaces are a great addition, especially for the weekly market, to quickly do some shopping by bike," says head of transport Klaus Oesterling.
Even though bicycles take up little space compared to cars, it is sometimes not so easy to find a suitable and safe parking space in the streets and squares. That's why the city is continuously expanding the number of covered parking spaces and open connection options such as bike racks. 2000 new parking spaces per year is the target set in the city council's decision to become a bicycle city and has already been achieved in 2019. "We are also on a good path this year. Citywide, 800 more parking spaces have already been added in the first quarter," explains the city council.
The system for bikes set up in Höchst was developed by the company Orion Bausysteme. It is robustly built, low-maintenance and easy to handle. A special hydraulic system makes it possible to park e-bikes weighing up to 25 kilograms on the upper floor. The Office of Road Construction and Development is taking care of the installation of the facilities and bicycle racks.
Further parking facilities are in the pipeline. The next locations are the subway stop Bonames, the Südbahnhof and the subway station in Nieder-Eschbach. The city is specifically equipping important junctions with covered bicycle parking spaces to create attractive incentives to combine cycling and public transport.
