Park, Ride and Wash in Fahrradfreundliche Muenster

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.

Photos: Christof Hertel, ITDP Europe