Broken chain, flat tire – it’s annoying when something breaks on the bike along the way. In Pankow, help should soon be given more quickly. The District Assembly (BVV) has now decided that bicycle repair posts will be set up for first aid. There, cyclists can use patches and tools free of charge.
Maximilian Schirmer (left) had seen such useful installations while on vacation in Rostock and submitted the application. “I’m a cyclist myself, so I cover all routes professionally and privately within Berlin. Unfortunately, from time to time an accident happens when driving at full speed, just the other day I broke a chain. In such situations, of all things, there is no workshop nearby. That’s why this facility is practical.” And also good for people who have to make do with little money.
Useful services
Bike-related services always make sense in Berlin, as bike traffic in the city is growing significantly over the long term. Lisa Feitsch, spokeswoman for the General German Bicycle Club (ADFC), knows: “Over the past five years, there has been an average annual increase in cycling of 4.6 percent. The proportion of bicycles in total traffic rose from 13 to 18 percent. With a good cycling infrastructure, however, there could be even more people who discover the bike as a flexible and healthy means of transport.” She welcomes the innovation. “Bike repair stations are a small but important building block for Berlin on the way to becoming a bike-friendly city. They offer practical help in everyday life and signal: ‘Cycling is welcome here’.”
A column costs 2000 euros
In the neighboring district of Reinickendorf, two of these repair stations have been available for a year, and they are also in use in Amsterdam and Leverkusen. In Reinickendorf, each cost 2,000 euros. Korinna Stephan, spokeswoman for the district, explains how the locations at the town hall and on Schlossstraße in Tegel were selected: “It was crucial how highly frequented the places are by cyclists and where vandalism is to be curbed with constant monitoring by gatekeepers, such as at the town hall is.”
In Pankow, the stations will be located at traffic junctions for daily commuter traffic and on national long-distance cycle paths such as the Berlin-Usedom cycle path and after that to Copenhagen. Maximilian Schirmer says: “It is important that the pillars can be located analogously and digitally, i.e. that they are entered on the corresponding traffic maps and tourist guides.”