Just cycle to the drinks market, get two crates of water – no problem if you have a cargo bike. The wheels are designed for transportation, moving people and goods quickly and nimbly through the city. There is often only a problem when the bike comes to a standstill, because the cyclist has to park his vehicle somewhere after shopping. In apartment buildings in particular, there is often a lack of space for large cargo bikes. The situation is structurally and legally difficult and the potential for conflict is correspondingly high.
“Ten bicycles or three to four cargo bikes fit in a car parking space,” says Stephanie Krone, spokeswoman for the General German Bicycle Club (ADFC) in Berlin. The space required by bicycles is often compared to that of cars, especially in inner cities. In other words, this comparison also shows that a cargo bike requires two and a half to 3.3 bicycle parking spaces. Because they are larger than conventional bicycles and the private parking spaces are often far too small.
This is not a problem in single-family homes and in the country. In the former, conflicts with neighbors do not arise, and there is usually enough space in the country. But it is scarce in the inner cities, and it is precisely here that cargo bikes are particularly popular. Front building, rear building, in between a backyard where the bicycle parking spaces are given: one parking space per 40 square meters of living space is provided for, for example, according to the statute for bicycle parking spaces in Munich. For a cargo bike parking space, a resident would need around 120 square meters of living space.
Although cargo bikes are larger than regular bikes, owners are not required to allocate specific spaces for them
Exactly how much space a bike needs varies. A statement by the Radlogistikverband Deutschland on the reform of the garage ordinance states that current models are up to 3.5 meters long and up to 1.3 meters wide. On average, however, cargo bikes are actually a bit smaller. “Three-wheel private models are usually around 80 centimeters wide,” says Arne Behrensen, Managing Director of cargobike.jetzt, an agency and project developer for the promotion of cargo bikes. Two-wheelers are narrower, but often between 2.5 and 3 meters long. For comparison: the mobility department of the city of Munich specifies a width of 60 to 70 centimeters and a length of 1.9 meters for a normal bicycle.
Although cargo bikes are therefore much larger than normal bikes, owners do not have to identify any special spaces for them. “They are allowed to use the usual parking spaces,” says Julia Wagner, a legal expert at the Haus und Grund Germany owners’ association in Berlin: “If there are too few, owners can apply for structural changes.” Because of the new majorities after the WEG reform, this also has good chances to go through at the owners’ meeting. However, this is not regulated in the same way nationwide, since building law is state law. Municipalities can also set additional requirements. “From a certain number of residents on a property, it must be ensured that all types of bicycles can be parked,” says Behrensen. This could also simply be in an open area on the property.
But then again, it’s not quite that simple. It goes without saying that escape routes must remain free. But if the long cargo bikes are parked on parking spaces for simple bikes, they may protrude into the path. If they then force parents with prams, wheelchair users or older residents with walkers to move to a meadow, that’s not possible, explains Wagner: “I have to be able to reach my living unit reasonably.”
“If a tenant has a cargo bike, but no space can be created for it under building law, then he can’t ask for one either.”
It also becomes difficult when owners have attached rails for bicycles to the walls because of lack of space, because these are too short for the long cargo bikes and unsuitable for the three-wheelers. And even in the fortunate case of having enough space in a building’s backyard, things can get complicated. At least when access is through the hallway of the front building. The wider a vehicle, the greater the risk of damaging the walls of the corridor when driving through. If this is the case, you have no right to push the bike into the backyard, explains Wagner. “But if the passage is wide enough, you can’t ban it.”
So if you are thinking of buying a cargo bike, you should definitely clarify in advance where you can park it without getting in the way of someone. “It’s also about the consideration that you have to take with such a large vehicle,” says Wagner. A special situation can arise for tenants if the rental agreement contains a right to bicycle parking spaces. That could also be problematic, says Wagner: “If a tenant has a cargo bike, but no space can be created for it under building law, then he can’t ask for one either.”
If, on the other hand, a renter needs a charging station because his bike has an electric motor, he can install it at his own expense. “The landlord has to approve it,” says Wagner. However, tenants only have the right to a charging station if there is a parking space for the e-bike. If, for example, the stairwell is too narrow to park the bike, there is no right to a charging station.
Simply putting the cargo bike in an existing garage is prohibited in many federal states, since garages should be reserved for cars. However, the model garage ordinance, to which many countries refer, is to be revised, and bicycle fans hope that bikes will then also be allowed in in the future. However, there are often technical problems with garages in particular, because in recent decades underground car parks with duplex parking spaces have often been built to save space. No problem for three-wheeled cargo bikes if their owners park them lengthways. However, two-wheeled vehicles easily tip over when the platform in the garage tilts. Special parking facilities can protect against this, but these are not designed for cargo bikes, the ADFC warns.
Many countries and communities have now recognized the problem. According to Behrensen, for example, Berlin has adjusted its requirements for new buildings and made binding specifications for transport bike parking spaces. In Munich, such changes fall within the area of mobility concepts. In this way, builders can build fewer parking spaces for cars than required – if they increase the number of bicycle parking spaces in return. This includes an area for a sharing offer for cargo bikes with an area of at least twelve square meters.
“If you have to pay for parking, you also have to pay for a cargo bike.”
If there is no space on private property, there is only one way out: public land. “Cargo bikes, like normal bicycles, can be parked on the sidewalk,” says ADFC spokeswoman Krone. However, they must not impede pedestrians, wheelchair users or parents with prams there either. This often leads to problems in practice.
At least in the city of Munich, there should always be a residual width of two meters on the sidewalk, says Christina Warta, spokeswoman for the city’s mobility department: “It should also be noted that for visually impaired and blind people when walking safely along the street, the inner guideline – i.e. the guidance along the edge of the house away from the traffic – is needed in order to be able to find and follow the desired walking direction.” The bike therefore belongs more on the side of the curb or on the street.
“Where a car can park, a bicycle can also park,” Behrensen clarifies. Even if parking spaces are marked at the edge of the road. But be careful: In a zone where only residents are allowed to park for an annual fee or where parking is only allowed with a parking ticket or parking disc, this applies to everyone, says Behrensen: “If you have to pay for parking, you also have to pay with a cargo bike – or set a parking disc.”