Find out how we are working with our industry partners to build up a route of several mobility points from Messe-Deutz station North through the Stegerwaldsiedlung and the wider Mülheim district.

Our data platform continues to be developed and has already stimulated local entrepreneurs to create some 25 Apps.

Action area 2: Integrated infrastructures

Cracking open data - stimulating local entrepreneurs & traffic management

To see all the measures to be implemented, click here.

Those of you who have read my previous blogs will know that as part of the GrowSmarter project we are developing the City of Cologne’s open data platform www.offenedaten-koeln.de to include new datasets to help improve traffic management.

Cambio carsharing and KVB (both GrowSmarter industry partners) have now provided datasets on the locations of the rental cars/ rental bikes, respectively as well as their actual positions when in use, so we have both static and dynamic data now available for these services.

• Car rental (cambio car-sharing) dataset, can be accessed here: www.offenedaten-koeln.de/dataset/og_group_ref/1613

• Bike rental (KVB) dataset, can be accessed here: www.offenedaten-koeln.de/dataset/og_group_ref/1314

Photos: Bike-sharing ©Cambio Köln

Our partner [ui!] – the urban institute is now busy implementing these datasets into the cockpit of the open data platform.

Some 25 Apps have already been developed based on the Cologne open data platform which shows a wide range of different use cases and we hope that by adding richer datasets will open up new value chains that spawn innovative and smart solutions which in turn boost sustainable modes of city living and working.

So now we made the first step in motivating the people to change their behaviour. It’s so easy to check for the next cambio station or the next bike to use!

Curious how it works? Check at www.cambio-carsharing.de/koeln and www.kvb-rad.de/de/koeln/ about the terms and conditions.

Action area 3: Sustainable Urban Mobility

Urban planning of mobility hubs – when do public and private interests overlap?

To see all the measures to be implemented, click here.

In our first blog we mentioned our plans to develop mobility hubs at strategic points throughout the Mülheim area and the Stegerwaldsiedlung (no 2 on the map), where intensive building refurbishment is taking place as part of the GrowSmarter project. It has taken a bit of time, but now we have some new updates to share!

General overview

As the Stegerwaldsiedlung, directly borders Urban district 1: downtown (high traffic levels), we have built up a route of several mobility points which run from Messe-Deutz station (see green circle on map) directing traffic North through the Stegerwaldsiedlung and the wider Mülheim district. Urban mobility measures (smart solutions 10-12: Smart traffic management, Alternative fuel driven vehicles and Smart mobility solutions) to be rolled out in areas 1-3 on the map are described in brief below. More detailed information on the planning can be found here

Übersichtsplan ©Stadt Köln

Charles-de-Gaulle-Square

Located to the North of Messe-Deutz station, the Charles-de-Gaulle Square lies between Auenweg and the river Rhine and is well connected with trams, regional trains, as well as, the high-speed ICE trains for long-distance travel.

Parking lots currently for cars (bikes to follow) to the East of this square are currently rented out privately, while those to the West are managed by the City. The latter is classified as fiscal property, which is not under public law, and provides enough space for all modules of mobility hubs.

Our GrowSmarter partners in Cologne, Cambio and Ampido submitted applications with the City administration at the beginning of the year to manage some of these parking lots. These applications have been accepted subject to conditions, mainly related to design elements.

Ampido will manage five parking lots using the online management of parking space. Cambio requested five lots, two for electric vehicles and three for conventional vehicles. It is also envisaged that KVB will set up a public electric charging station for two electric vehicles.

KVB AG will install a bike rental station in the immediate vicinity of the station providing both electric and pedal bicycles. The exact location has yet to be determined.

Charles-de-Gaulle-Square ©Stadt Köln

Stegerwaldsiedlung

Moving over to the Stegerwaldsiedlung, the mobility hubs here will be built on property owned by GrowSmarter partner DEWOG, which is also closely located to Cologne’s public transport system; station stop Stegerwaldsiedlung offers connections straight into the city centre.

Arrangements to accommodate all of the proposed mobility solutions within this hub will be managed by DEWOG and the other partners. Preliminary consent for this process has been signed by DEWOG.

As large-scale retrofitting of the buildings in Stegerwaldsiedlung are underway to improve energy efficiency, as such the outside area is partly needed for the building site. Therefore, implementation depends on the progress of these renovation activities.

Current plans are shown below with the exact allocation of the industrial partners has yet to be determined.

Stegerwaldsiedlung © DEWOG

The Köln-Mülheim station forecourt

Recently refurbished as part of the Mülheim 2020 project, the forecourt of the Köln-Mülheim station sees many passengers pass through every day on their way to and from the city either by bus or the city light rail network, provided by KVB. The station is a connecting point for commuter trains coming from outside the city and regional trains.

This area forecourt belongs to the Deutsche Bahn (DB) and is currently managed by a DB AG subsidiary, car-charing company Flinkster.

Based on the licensing agreement concluded between Deutsche Bahn AG and the city of Cologne, DB AG has agreed to provide Ampido and Cambio with the use of two parking lots each. The exact allocation has still to be agreed upon with DB AG.

Köln-Mülheim station forecourt ©Stadt Köln

Barbara Moehlendick

Site Manager, Cologne

For the previous blog post, click here