A Parking Garage for Bikes

1 minute read
An interior view of part of the largest bicycle storage in Europe, at the Utrecht Central Station in Utrech, Netherlands, Aug. 7. The storage has a capacity of 6,000 bicycles and will be expanded to accomodate 12,500 at the end of 2018.
An interior view of part of the largest bicycle storage in Europe, at the Utrecht Central Station in Utrech, Netherlands, Aug. 7. The storage has a capacity of 6,000 bicycles and will be expanded to accomodate 12,500 at the end of 2018.Sem Van Der Wal—EPA
By Julia Zorthian

In Utrecht, the Netherlands, more than 125,000 cyclists bike through the city center daily, far more than the bike racks can handle. The solution: a garage that treats bikes like cars. There are similar structures in other cities, but Utrecht’s Stationsplein Bicycle Parking complex–located under the city’s main transit hub–is more ambitious. There are digital signs that direct cyclists to spots as well as a 24-hour free-parking period. Once construction is complete next year, there will be space for 12,500 bikes, making Stationsplein the biggest garage of its kind.

For more on these stories, visit time.com/ideas

More Must-Reads from TIME

Write to Julia Zorthian at julia.zorthian@time.com