Bicycle parking Stationsplein Utrecht: largest in the world

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Press release

Dutch Cycling Culture nominated for the National Intangible Heritage List (pdf, 72 kB)

About the largest bicycle parking facility in the world

Utrecht's bicycle parking facility ‘Stationsplein’ has spaces for 12,500 bicycles, which makes it the largest in the world. The Municipality of Utrecht, ProRail and NS (Dutch Railways) jointly develop and manage the bicycle parking facility Stationsplein. The three parties collaboratively ensure an easy to get to and easily-accessible station with attractive, safe and better-utilised bicycle parking facilities around Utrecht.

  • 12,500 spaces
  • 1,000 OV-fietsen (public transport bicycles)
  • Safe, dry and right next to Utrecht Central Station
  • Open 24/7
  • Free parking for the first 24 hours
  • Check in with your OV-chipkaart
  • Unique: the only guarded parking facility in Utrecht where you can cycle through on a continuous cycle path, i.e. you can cycle in and out both sides
  • There is a one-way traffic system for cyclists with a 15 km per hour speed limit for safety reasons
  • Three floors: the lower and upper floors (level +1 and -1) are for day-parkers and the ground floor (level 0) is for people with subscriptions. You can easily access the platforms or the bus or the station hall towards 'Hoog Catharijne' from the bicycle parking facility
  • There is a special area for slightly irregular models, such as crate bicycles and bicycles with wide handlebars. Highly irregular bicycles, such as cargo bikes, can be parked for free for the first 24 hours at the other parking facility at Utrecht Central, namely the 'Sijpesteijnstalling'
  • A Bicycle & Service Point for repairs, maintenance, parts and accessories.
  • Supervision by Service staff who ensure that bicycles are parked correctly and are not left for longer than 28 days
  • The digital 'p-route fiets' (bicycle) space indication system directs cyclists to free spaces.
  • Utrecht was the first city in which cyclists were directed to free spaces using digital signs (on the street, in six bicycle parking facilities and on an app). This system also helps monitors with enforcement
  • The bicycle parking facility is a collaboration between the Municipality of Utrecht, ProRail and NS (Dutch Railways). These three parties and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management have invested in the parking facilities in terms of resources and staff deployment.
  • The Municipality of Utrecht is the client for the construction of the parking facility on behalf of the parties and the owner of the largest part of the parking facility. NS owns the former 'Noorderstalling', which is now part of the 'Stationspleinstalling'. The Municipality, ProRail and NS have clear agreements about who manages and maintains what. 50% of this funding is for ProRail and 50% for the municipality.
  • Costs: all parties (the Municipality of Utrecht, ProRail, NS and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management) have invested in this parking facility, both in terms of resources and in terms of staff deployment. Excluding phasing and interfaces, and the installation of the bicycle space indication system, the 'Stationspleinstalling' cost more than €30 million. ProRail paid 60% of this, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management paid 20% (through the 'Beter Benutten' programme) and the Municipality of Utrecht paid 20%. In total, these parties contributed more than €50 million to parking facilities in the Station area.
  • The occupancy rate in the 1st part was between 80% and 90% on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The parking facilities were often completely full on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 5,000 extra bicycle parking spaces will be added with the opening of the 2nd part
  • Around 40 employees work at the parking facility, a percentage of these employees have a disadvantage in the labour market
  • Travellers give the parking facility a solid 8 when it comes to the first 24-hour free offer
  • Travellers who have to catch the train prefer to park on floor -1. Travellers who work in the area surrounding the station prefer to park on floor +1
  • Fixing and changing tyres are the most requested repairs in the Bicycle & Service centre
  • 6,000 public transport bicycle (OV-fiets) journeys were made from the 'Stationspleinstalling' every week in 2018
  • Travellers can check whether, and how many, public transport bicycles are available using the NS app
  • Start of construction: November 2014
  • Completion of 1st part (6,000 spaces): August 2017 and in October 2017: (total 7,500 spaces by adding 1,500 spaces)
  • Completion and opening of 2nd part (total 12,500 spaces by adding 5,000 spaces): August 2019
  • A total of 161 digital signs in the parking facility
  • Gross floor area of only the parking is 21,373 m2> That is more than 4 football pitches! (4.3 to be exact)
  • If we were to put all the bicycle places behind each other, it would be a row of 25 km long.
  • The parking facility already won several prizes after the completion of the 1st part:
  • Among others, the bicycle parking facility was awarded the 'Betonprijs' prize in 2017, it was the jury winner of the Architizer A+ Awards 2018 in the 'Transport' category, it was nominated for the national steel prize (nationale staalprijs) in 2018 and nominated for the Dutch Design Awards in 2019 in the 'Habitat' category. The parking facility is also on the cover of the Architecture Yearbook (Architectuurjaarboek) 2018/2019.
  • Design Team:
    • Architect: Ector Hoogstad Architecten
    • Contractor: BAM
    • Constructor: Royal HaskoningDHV
  • Other parties:
    • Building physics: DGMR
    • Installation advisor: Royal HaskoningDHV
    • Lighting advice: ARUP
    • Building management: BBN
    • Landscape architect for the square above: Buro Sant en Co

Construction facts

  • The facility's gross floor space is 21,373 m2
  • Sheet piles 10,000 m2
  • Piles 25,000 m
  • Earth moved 51,000 m3
  • Concrete 17,500 m3
  • Reinforcement 2,615 tons
  • Prefab columns 232 units
  • Prefab stairs and landings 52 units
  • Timber frame construction walls 2,227 m2
  • Metal cassettes 4,389 m2
  • Wooden slats against wall 4,035 m2
  • Screed floors 16,000 m2
  • Plastic floor finish 16,000 m2
  • 3 glass houses with staircases

Naar boven

Floor plan

Floor plan bicycle parking facility Stationsplein Utrecht (1,9 MB)

Questions and answers

Interesting Utrecht cycling videos

Utrecht: Users bicycle parking Stationsplein

Utrecht: Planning for People & Bikes, Not for Cars

Compilation bicycle parking Stationsplein

Photos

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Click to enlarge.

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Photograph: Petra Appelhof
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Photograph: Petra Appelhof
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Photograph: Petra Appelhof
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Photograph: Petra Appelhof
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Photograph: Petra Appelhof
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Photograph: Petra Appelhof
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Photograph: Petra Appelhof
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Photograph: Petra Appelhof
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Photograph: Petra Appelhof
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Photograph: Petra Appelhof
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Photograph: Petra Appelhof
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Photograph: Petra Appelhof
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Photograph: Petra Appelhof
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Photograph: Petra Appelhof
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Photograph: CU2030
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Photograph: CU2030
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Photograph: CU2030
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Photograph: CU2030
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Photograph: CU2030
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Photograph: CU2030
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Photograph: CU2030
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Photograph: CU2030
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Gerrit Serné
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Gerrit Serné
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Gerrit Serné
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Gerrit Serné
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Gerrit Serné
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Gerrit Serné

About cycling in Utrecht and the Netherlands

Other monitored bicycle parking facilities around Utrecht central station

  • 'Jaarbeursplein' (4,900 spaces)
  • 'Knoop' (3,000 spaces)
  • 'Sijpesteijn' (1,240 spaces)
  • 'Laag Catharijne' (300 spaces)
  • 'Stationsplein klein' (400 spaces)> will close in the long term

Utrecht bicycle facts

It's not surprising that the largest bicycle parking facility in the world is found in Utrecht:

  • It's the largest public transportation hub in the Netherlands
  • 53% of all residents who cycle get to the train stations by bicycle
  • The three busiest cycle paths in the Netherlands are found in Utrecht
  • From the Utrecht Monitor 2018:
    • 96% of households have 1 or more bicycles
    • 60% goes by bike to the city center
    • 87% are satisfied with the accessibility of the city center by bicycle
    • An upward trend in the satisfaction of residents about guarded parking facilities at the     station
  • Utrecht has been in the top 3 of the world's most bicycle-friendly cities for years (Copenhagenize Index 2019)
  • The only Dutch city that will have welcomed the three largest cycling races (Giro d'Italia in 2010, the Tour de France in 2015 and the Vuelta in 2020)
  • Participation in the 'Tour de Force' (form of cooperation with central government)
  • Participation in Living labs (sharing knowledge and experimenting with bicycle innovations)

National bicycle facts

  • As a country of passionate cyclists, the Netherlands is the only country in the world that has more bicycles than inhabitants
  • The bicycle plays an important role as a mode of transport as more than a quarter of all journeys made by Dutch people are by bicycle
  • With the growth of travel within and between cities, the bicycle is increasingly coming into own as a fully-fledged means of transport
  • Cycling is environmentally friendly, good for your health and reduces traffic jams
  • The Dutch national government (Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management) has made 175 million euros available for the construction and/or modification of fast bicycle routes and bicycle parking facilities. In this way, the ideal conditions for travelling by bicycle are being implemented by the central government, together with the provinces and municipalities. The ambition is to get 200,000 extra people commuting by bike
  • In 2018, more than 4 million journeys were made with the 20,500 public transport bicycles (OV-fietsen). That is 800,000 more than in the previous year. Whereas there were 'only' 160,000 people with subscriptions five years ago, this figure now stands at 750,000
  • There are 300 public transport bicycle collection points nationwide
  • There are 530,000 bicycle parking spaces at stations nationwide, of which around 150,000 are monitored. At half of the monitored facilities, cyclists can park their bikes for free for the first 24 hours.

Infographic 'How Dutch identity derives from the cycling culture of its inhabitants'

HOW DUTCH IDENTITY DERIVES FROM THE CYCLING CULTURE OF ITS INHABITANTS Cycling - and everything that goes along with it - is indelibly ingrained in Dutch culture The Netherlands is the only country in the world that has more bicycles than inhabitants 22.3 million bicycles 17 million inhabitants That's an average of 1.3 bicycles per inhabitant! The Netherlands has the most unique bicycle infrastructure in the world The Netherlands has 37,000 kilometres of cycle paths and Dutch people collectively cycle 15 billion kilometres per year. That's 880 km spread across nearly 300 bicycle journeys per person. Cycling is part of being brought up in the Netherlands • You sit in a bike child seat as a baby • You often learn how to ride a bike yourself as early as the age of 4 • You usually cycle to school on your own at the age of 8 • You take a cycling traffic exam at 10 Sustainable public transport mobility by bicycle • 750,000 people with subscriptions to the public transport bicycles (OV-fietsen) • 20,500 public transport bicycles • Almost 50% of travellers get to the station by bike • There are 490,000 bicycle parking spaces at stations • Growth in public transport usage is expected in the coming years The largest bicycle parking facility in the world can be found at Utrecht Central Station • Utrecht Central Station is the largest public transport hub in the Netherlands; • Utrecht opened the first cycle path in the Netherlands in 1885 • Over 125,000 cyclists ride through the city centre every day • Utrecht is the only city in the world that will have helped to host the 3 largest cycle races (the Tour de France, Vuelta & Giro d'Italia) • 2019: Opening of the world's largest bicycle parking facility at Utrecht Central Station with 12,500 spaces.
Open the pdf (2,3 MB)
Hoq Dutch bicycle culture nominated for list of national heritage Cycling - and everything that goes along with it - is inextricably and indelibly ingrained in Dutch culture. The municipality of Utrecht, ProRail, NS (Dutch Railways), the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and the 'Stichting Landelijk Fietsplatform' (Dutch Cycling Platform Foundation) have taken the opportunity to use the opening of the bicycle parking ‘Stationsplein’ at Utrecht Central Station, the largest bicycle parking facility in the world, to nominate Dutch cycling culture onto the national intangible heritage list. Dutch cycling culture The Netherlands is a country of cyclists. A recent study conducted by the 'Sociaal Cultureel Planbureau' (Social Cultural Planning Office) shows that cycling is part of Dutch identity. The statement, 'just grabbing the bike' is almost comparable to making a coffee in the Netherlands - it's a very ordinary, daily requirement. Learning to ride a bicycle is therefore an integral part of education, which means that children can often ride a two-wheeler from the age of 4. The Netherlands has an infrastructure for cyclists that's unique in the world. With over 37,000 km of cycle path, there is almost nowhere in the Netherlands that can't be reached by bike. Dutch people cycle about 15 billion kilometres per year along these paths. That is more than 880 kilometres per person, spread across approximately 250 to 300 bicycle journeys. This means that bikes are used for more than a quarter of journeys made in the Netherlands. In rush hour, there are even more bicycles on the road in the Netherlands than cars. This uniquely high usage requires creative solutions. Huge bicycle parking facilities and real 'bicycle flats' are built in the Netherlands so that people can put all these bicycles somewhere. The absolute jewel in the crown is, of course, the largest bicycle parking facility in the world at Utrecht Central Station (12,500 places). It's located there because that's where the Netherlands' largest public transport hub is. National intangible heritage list Intangible heritage is living heritage. The heritage list contains traditions that are passed down from generation to generation and that form a common identity. The Nijmegen Four Days Marches, carnival, carbide shooting and the Sinterklaas festival are examples of recognised national heritage activities. A tradition can be recognised if there is an organisation behind it that works towards its conservation in the future.

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