Here are tipster-submitted pics from the bike-and-ride Radstation
in Muenster, Germany -- where a train depot sits adjacent to a massive
bike parking garage, featuring, among other amenities, a bike washing
machine. Price per wash: 3.25 Euros (about $4.13 currently, thanks to
the leveling exchange rate).
We've reported before on Germany's flourishing bike culture, and Muenster is obviously no exception. Here's a passage from a write-up by SUNY Stony Brook professor Gilbert N. Hanson, who documented his cycling experience while on sabbatical there in 2000:
Muenster
did not become a bicycle friendly (fahrradfreundliche) city by
accident. During World War II the city center was almost completely
destroyed. In the reconstruction of the city after the war it was
decided that bicycles and buses should be an important part of city
traffic. For the past 50 years the city has continually worked on
increasing bicycle use.
According to the city press office,
cycling accounts for 35 percent of trips in Muenster, while car
ownership has seen no proportional increase in over 25 years. More bike
station pics after the jump.
Inside the washing machine.
Cyclists enter and exit the station by ramp.
