Too few spaces and illegal parkers: daily bicycle chaos at Stockdorf train station

Created: 11/24/2022, 13:00

By: Martin Schullerus

Ignored signs: Signs on and in the underpass clearly indicate that no bicycles may be parked there.

The reality is different.

© Dagmar Rutt

The Würmtal communities are propagating the switch to bicycles and public transport with conviction.

If citizens follow this, they sometimes come across an infrastructure that is not up to the traffic turnaround.

The bike chaos at the Stockdorfer S-Bahn station shows what the consequences can look like.

Stockdorf – Jossi Loibl from Krailling often takes the S-Bahn;

he leaves the car parked as often as possible.

However, if he wants to get on the train in Stockdorf, he has to complete an obstacle course – like every commuter in Stockdorf: dozens of bicycles are already lying around in a complete disorder on the small forecourt, as the owners have just parked them in a hurry.

In the underpass, which in an emergency must also be clear as an escape and rescue route, the picture is the same: bicycles along all the walls and well into the walking area.

Above it are new signs that the railway company had put up: In words and pictograms, they forbid the wild parking of bicycles in this area and threaten to remove them in the event of violation.

"Apparently nobody is impressed by that," says Jossi Loibl.

Especially in bad weather, the dry underpass is a welcome bicycle garage for many.

"In any case, it's faster than using one of the overcrowded bicycle racks," says Loibl.

His diagnosis: There are far too few bicycle racks at the Stockdorfer S-Bahn station, and more than half of them are multi-storey systems.

Jossi Loibl: “You have to balance your bike;

that's more for young, strong men than for anyone who cycles to the train station."

61 bicycles parked wildly at Stockdorf train station

A site visit confirms this impression: On any given Tuesday morning, most of the 32 (twice 16) two-storey bicycle racks were occupied, but six were free – all in the upper row.

The 24 conventional bicycle racks on the street were fully occupied.

However, a total of 61 bicycles were also parked wildly;

28 of them in the immediate prohibited area.

Jossi Loibl's assessment: "The railway has to make sure that the access roads are not blocked and tries to do that with the signs.

On the other hand, from the cyclists’ point of view, comfortable, safe bicycle stands can be expected in sufficient numbers.”

Deutsche Bahn and the municipality of Gauting, to which Stockdorf belongs, do not contradict any of this at all.

However, they are no closer to solving the problem.

When asked by Merkur, a Bahn spokeswoman said: "Basically, the 'stationary traffic' (car and bicycle parking facilities) is the responsibility of the municipalities" and mentions paragraphs of the regionalization law and the law on local public transport in Bavaria.

According to this, the districts are responsible on the one hand for “that the traffic need for parking spaces should be covered as far as possible”, on the other hand the municipalities according to the municipal code.

The community is welcome to contact the DB Bike & Ride Offensive

Deutsche Bahn itself has “launched the Bike & Ride offensive to support the improvement of the parking situation for bicycles at train stations”.

Municipalities could get involved here and would receive free DB areas in the immediate vicinity of the station, as well as special conditions when “calling up bicycle parking facilities”.

Conclusion of the railway spokeswoman: "The municipality is therefore welcome to turn to the Bike & Ride offensive of the DB to improve the chaos situation on site and to offer travelers more parking facilities."

In view of the space situation, the town hall does not see itself in a position to solve the well-known problem.

“We very much regret not being able to remedy this.

The space available is very limited,” said a spokeswoman on request.

This sub-area is owned by Deutsche Bahn.

When the barrier-free conversion of the Stockdorf S-Bahn station was planned a few years ago, the municipality had already emphatically pressed for as many bicycle parking facilities as possible to be provided.

"Since there must also be enough space available for pedestrians, we unfortunately see no possibility of realizing further bicycle parking facilities there due to the lack of space," said the spokeswoman.

For Jossi Loibl and the commuters from Stockdorf or Krailling, that means more intensive training in the obstacle course.

And in reality, the propagated turnaround in traffic gets stuck halfway – on the way to the train.

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