As people increasingly turn to more eco-friendly methods of transportation instead of driving, infrastructure must adapt. Utrecht, a Dutch city and one of the world’s most bike-friendly cities, has opened a 3-story bike parking garage at its central train station a few weeks ago. Designed by the firm Ector Hoogstad Architecten, it is the largest of its kind in the world with a capacity of 12,656 bikes.<\/p>\n
Bikes are a key commuting method in Utrecht, accounting for 60% of trips made into the city. The city plans to further encourage this trend by doubling the number of bike commuters by 2030. Individuals looking to catch a train in Utrecht often bike, driving the need for a safe place to store bikes near the train station. Normal bike parks require too long of a walk.<\/p>\n
On the ground level of the garage is a plaza that was once a street. Under the plaza is the garage itself and the street-level bike path extends underground, leading into the garage.<\/p>\n
Cyclists can ride into the garage, find a parking spot, and go to their train platform in under 5 minutes. There are colour-coded routes, a roundabout, and digital signs indicating which spaces are unoccupied, giving cyclists a convenient and easy experience. Beyond parking, the garage also features staff to ensure smooth operations and address theft, a shop for bike repairs, and bike rental options. Riders can quickly access the main level through central stairwells or head straight to train platforms via a dedicated tunnel.<\/p>\n
The garage is already becoming popular and filling up during peak hours.<\/p>\n
This new bike garage is not the only bike parking space in Utrecht. Considering these other spaces, the city now offers 22,000 bicycle parking spaces.<\/p>\n
Other Dutch cities are also creating more bike parking spaces. The Hague is constructing a facility for 8,500 bikes and the Netherlands plans to create 200,000 new bicycle parking spaces by 2030.<\/p>\n
Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.fastcompany.com\/90403235\/what-its-like-inside-the-worlds-largest-bike-parking-garage<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As people increasingly turn to more eco-friendly methods of transportation instead of driving, infrastructure must adapt. Utrecht, a Dutch city and one of the world’s most bike-friendly cities, has opened a 3-story bike parking garage at its central train station a few weeks ago. Designed by the firm Ector Hoogstad Architecten, it is the largest […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[153],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n