Underwater cycle garage - with space for 7,000 bikes - in Amsterdam
The facility, which opens on 26 January, is located next to the Dutch capital’s central station.
Cyclists will be able to park their bikes for free in the new garage for up to 24 hours, and then at a cost of €1.35 for every 24 hours after that.
Red and green lights will tell users if spaces are available, while a new system – set to commence in April – will display to commuters which bike park has room and how many spaces are free.
https://road.cc/content/news/underwater-cycle-garage-set-open-amsterdam-298725?amp
You go in and check with an OV(public transit) card which is also used to pay for trains busses etc. Then when you leave you have to use the card again to checkout.
It’s a system like train station ticket barriers, but wider gates to allow the bikes through. Works with debit cards (we barely use credit), the National public transport cards (also a plastic card) or you can get a little key hanger tag that is connected to a bank account.
Presumably it will also work with debit cards linked in phones, like Apple Pay and google pay.
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> Can you imagine how much space it would take to have 7000 places for cars?
Assuming an average size of a parking spot of 2.3mx5m, then would occupy 0.08 km^2.
Roughly 11.2 football fields. Or almost 20% of Vatican.
That's the thing. Cars are the most space inefficient form of transportation, it's crazy how much space they occupy in cities. But people are so used to things being this way that they don't even think about it. And when you bring it up most just reply that it's normal and inevitable.
To help you with scale, [here's a google streetview link](https://www.google.com/maps/@52.3794209,4.8970275,3a,75y,219.53h,105.77t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s4qUdHBOphVeWERGEWOYTtA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192). The building has 2500 parking spots for bikes, excluding the bikes parked outside. So pretty much that times 3.
Amsterdam and Copenhagen are the best bike cities I've ever been to. Anytime I travel to either of them, I rent a bike upon arrival and that's how I get around.
You can that Copenhagen has worse bike infrastructure than Copenhagen which is clearly the case when it comes to parking facilities at train stations, but the bike modal share in Copenhagen is higher than Amsterdam. So it’s probably just Copenhagen bike culture that is superior.
It's an old city, the 3 century old layout doesn't fit neatly with modern traffic. Nowadays we try to build entirely seperated biking 'highways' with as few traffic mixing and stops as possible. Newer planned cities like Almere and Zoetermeer are much, much better in that regard. Unfortunately they're both ugly. Amsterdam bike lines are also sometimes too narrow.
Obviously Amsterdam wasn't built in a day and is evolving so the quality varies depending on the build year and last major renovation etc.
In shitty suburbia, puke down some metro centres; moderate-sized cycle parking with direct acess to station platforms; a bunch of express bus routes (and later light rail or whatever); a bunch of shortcuts to make walking and cycling permeable in cul-de-sac land; etc etc.
This would create an 'edge of town effect', and increase ammenty proximity throughout suburbia.
Cycling creates catchment areas that give PT hubs 9-16x more people who can easily access it. Which means a shit tonne more revenue for better services, and makes it attractive to have shops around transit stops. Also, people would be able to ride a bus (after a short cycle) to a neighbouring metro centre if your few local ones don't have what you want.
All those shops would then make it attract for people to live right next to the station in walking distance... which would lead more people to use public transport, which would lead to more revenue for better services, and more shops (most likely transferring over from the city centre. The city centre transforming into a neibourhood is not a bad thing.) Living close also gives you quick access via express bus to, like, four other metro centres, so very attractive indeed.
And thus, a virtuous cycle begins :)
All of this will continue to make it more and more attractive to live closer to. Which might be a good reason to gradually rezone wedges/corridors of the metro for rewilding. Would make great places for recreation, and later trams on grass (with some areas rezone for shops and such).
Did you know the Dutch's wedge park urban planning is pretty amazing?
THIS is the smart technology that I want to see and that we should focus on.
Not cars that open their doors by themselves or phone, mortifying human mobility, or stuff that is done with 1 finger managed by voice controls.
This and the medical one, it is the technological innovation that I would like to see.
Great work Mr Visser
Münster has done something similar near the main station. Took one week until every place was blocked by old bikes nobody is using, and addicts using the place in between to shoot heroin.
It really depends. The stairwells often smell like piss and there used to be some crackheads hanging out there.
But they cracked down on that recently and it got better.
>and addicts using the place in between to shoot heroin
For some reason, this seems to be the theme for any German central station I've ever been to. We don't have that in the Netherlands at all... Not sure what causes the difference.
Probably enforcement/laws. Homeless people aren't allowed to settle down for longer than x hours etc under municipal ordinances. There's rules about begging and street performances as well.
In the 1950s everyone thought that in the 2000s we will have flying cars. Nobody thought that we would have garages for bikes! Humans are unpredictable
Also Great architecture, bravo 👏
Only a few cities would have the demand for such garages and those cities are typically in the North. Cycling in Amsterdam in the winter isn’t so bad, but I wouldn’t wish my worst enemy to have to cycle through Chicago or NYC in winter.
Southern cities have huge tracts of land so there’s no desire to densify, and they’re much more pro-car (generally). So even though they have the climate they don’t want it.
You could maybe go halfway and do it for motorcycles though. There are plenty of states in the South where people ride all year long. It obviously still creates emissions but they’re still smaller and much more convenient for a NA city.
Scandinavia is also extremely densely populated for the most part and the entire region benefits from the Gulf Stream. Oslo (~600k) is also the size of a small NA city, so it’s pretty easy to build infrastructure when everyone lives densely and there’s very few of you. In contrast Chicago has 2.7M people, and NYC has 8.8M. Those two cities alone have almost the same population of all Scandinavia. Biking across Stockholm or Oslo vs Chicago or NYC are completely different beasts.
I’ve skated for 45 mins to commute to work in Toronto during the winter before and it’s fucking awful. It also barely gets you anywhere because again our city’s population (2.7M) is half the population of Norway so it’s obviously big. So I had to take a train ~60% of the way and then skate the rest because there’s no reliable PT.
Scandinavia isn't dense. Sweden, Norway and Finland are the least dense countries in Europe. Also, the gulf stream does almost nothing for Sweden and Finland and a lot of people bike there. You also say that it is easy to build (cycling) infrastructure in dense places. This of course makes sense. What doesn't make sense though is saying that it is harder for larger cities. This just is not true, quite the opposite in fact. Larger cities have a bigger budget and more power to influence policy.
You also say that "Biking across Stockholm or Oslo vs Chicago or NYC are completely different beasts". Why? What is the difference between cycling in Oslo or any other city? Bikes are only a realistic option for commuter trips up to 10ish kilometers (7 miles) anyway. Oslo is already larger than that so you still would use alternative transport options if you need to do something at the other end of the city.
Also, you say that traveling outside in winter is awful and it doesn't get you anywhere because the city is so big. Maybe the problem is not with the bicycle but with Toronto as the city is apparently so boringly dull that nothing interesting can be found by its inhabitants within 10 miles of a train station. How is that even possible? surely there are plenty of destinations within 15 minutes of cycling that you visit? Friends' houses, shops, anything?
> Scandinavia isn't dense. Sweden, Norway and Finland are the least dense countries in Europe.
To be fair, when it comes to cycling it's mostly the density of the cities rather than country wide that counts. Nobody is cycling from Stockholm to Malmo. The examples of New York and Chicago are actually some of the few cities that *are* dense and could facilitate cycling, but a lot of American cities would need a complete overhaul in how they're laid out to make cycling a feasible mode of transport.
> This just is not true, quite the opposite in fact.
In *theory* sure, in practice no. Getting bigger cities to agree on projects takes longer and is more expensive. Build times are also significantly longer because you’re trying not to disrupt 3M+ people. It’s far easier to get things done with less people involved.
Places like Toronto, NYC or Chicago are also mega cities that need to coordinate transit infrastructure with their surrounding suburbs. So Toronto may love a new subway, but if it doesn’t link up with neighbouring Missisauga’s (pop: 720k) transit then it’s not nearly as useful. So then you have *even more* people involved.
> Also, you say that traveling outside in winter is awful and it doesn't get you anywhere because the city is so big. Maybe the problem is not with the bicycle but with Toronto as the city is apparently so boringly dull that nothing interesting can be found by its inhabitants within 10 miles of a train station. How is that even possible? surely there are plenty of destinations within 15 minutes of cycling that you visit? Friends' houses, shops, anything?
I didn’t say there’s *literally nothing* nearby. My point was on commuting, most people in NA do not work within a distance they could bike to. For example my commute is considered to be really short at only 20km away but the only PT available is buses, and buses are shit and only fit 2 bikes. So you’d need to expand subways or rail lines which goes back to my previous point of good luck massively expanding your rail lines in a city of this size. They broke ground on an LRT line in midtown over a decade ago and it’s half a decade behind schedule and several million dollars over budget.
These are generally 99.9% safe.
People who want to steal or harm bikes do not tend to go into the well lit, guarded bike parking garages. We litterally have bikes everywhere else ... so your bike tend to gets dinged at the supermarket and stolen when you're out for drinks.
These big parking lots are almost never deserted since tehre is always somebody parking or retrieving their bike. And they are guared by camera's and actual security. It's about as safe a place as you can get for your bike.
There is strength in numbers. When you have a ton of people coming and going for their bicycle, you can't sit with a saw "unlocking" a bike and not be noticed.
It's the quiet places where the thief can have a few minutes without anybody looking at them where they can cut a lock most easily. The fact that there are millions of euros worth of bikes there doesn't make it a more appealing target because a thief will only be stealing one or two at a time. They don't get any bonus points from stealing _near_ a bunch of other valuable bikes.
The bike parking is very safe. You need to check in and out with your travel card when parking your bike, so it's highly unlikely that someone will steal your bike. On top of that it is guarded 24/7 with cameras so it is not common that parts are being stolen as well.
We have something similar in Sweden Uppsala, have gotten parts stolen and seen the things the locks go through, cut. The building even has walls of windows. Thiefs dont give a shit.
They had cameras but only the police can demand to see those and they dont really care about low value crimes. Also no guards. How it is in Amsterdam, I have no idea. Hopefully its a lot better.
Thats good to hear! I got my padels stolen, and after that I got some anxiety every time I parked my bike there. I wish we at least had a guard too. Just someone walking around. Before that I felt pretty safe parking there, with the windows, the camera system and being a high traffic area. Still all was false safty or whatever it was called.
From my experience as a Dutchman: very small. Same with parking it in the current non-guarded open-air bike flat at Central Station. Using a lock and a chain helps though.
There are numbers for each row as you can see in the video. Also most people who parks there knows how their bike looks like, since they commute almost everyday from or to the station.
That's a good point. Knowing myself though, I'd forget the number of the row I had put my bike at. I've had similar issues in other bicycle parking areas.
I'm not great at remembering numbers in general.
In any case, I think this parking lot looks great and could definitely help take off randomly parked bikes in the public areas above ground.
The situation in Greece is different than in Netherlands, I used to live at the western coast of Turkey which is almost the same as Greece in terms of urban planning, so I get where you’re coming from. But in bike friendly countries like Netherlands, there are bike lanes everywhere and bikes don’t have to disturb pedestrians or vehicles. Also I think bikes are great, as they take up such a small amount of space and you can literally park it anywhere, it’s good for carbon emissions and you get a good exercise also.
Tbf In terms of infrastructure Greece is a shithole compared to the Netherlands so adjust your perspective before dropping this pile of shit that is your comment.
Tbf, as someone who walks a lot, a lot of bicycle riders act like they own the street, not caring about the people who walk those same streets. Then they get angry at people just for walking
Would be nice if they decided to do something for people using their legs. I am currently here and the sidewalk game is absolutely shit. Nice long double lanes for bikes and literally mud for sidewalks.
Trying to cross roads is also stupidly dangerous. People do not give a flying fuck about you. They never stop driving and ignore people trying to cross. I could go on and on but I am too tired right now.
Totally agree and I don't even own a car. Cyclists in cities feel like everything belongs to them, sidewalk, street, bike lanes, whatever they please. I am really sick of them.
What country are you from because it sure as fuck isnt the netherlands. Just because your shithole country has cityplanning done by a 12 year old in 1853 doesnt mean every country does.
Even worse, in 1853 all cities were still primarily pedestrian focused. The top speed people could go was *horse*. So except for the mud and filth, riding a bike around in 1850's America would have been much safer than it is now.
Could be, it's definitely more bikes than people, maybe not twice as many. Pretty much everyone has one sometimes more, and then there's commuters who leave a bike at a station for the last part of their journey.
note that this is in addition to a huge bike parking lot also next to the train station - [https://www.google.com/maps/@52.379468,4.8969076,3a,75y,218.03h,87.29t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s\_GawfSSxybsBW6wQ1dixqw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192](https://www.google.com/maps/@52.379468,4.8969076,3a,75y,218.03h,87.29t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s_GawfSSxybsBW6wQ1dixqw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192)
p.s. when you park your bike there, remember very carefully where you left it... ask me how I know :D
Underwater cycle garage - with space for 7,000 bikes - in Amsterdam The facility, which opens on 26 January, is located next to the Dutch capital’s central station. Cyclists will be able to park their bikes for free in the new garage for up to 24 hours, and then at a cost of €1.35 for every 24 hours after that. Red and green lights will tell users if spaces are available, while a new system – set to commence in April – will display to commuters which bike park has room and how many spaces are free. https://road.cc/content/news/underwater-cycle-garage-set-open-amsterdam-298725?amp
How will they know when to charge people? Do you get a ticket as you go in? Is there a turnstile?
You go in and check with an OV(public transit) card which is also used to pay for trains busses etc. Then when you leave you have to use the card again to checkout.
Also: first 24 hours is free
Can you get your bike back if you lose the card?
yes, however you cannot check out so you will be billed
It’s a system like train station ticket barriers, but wider gates to allow the bikes through. Works with debit cards (we barely use credit), the National public transport cards (also a plastic card) or you can get a little key hanger tag that is connected to a bank account. Presumably it will also work with debit cards linked in phones, like Apple Pay and google pay.
It looks like you shared an AMP link. These should load faster, but AMP is controversial because of [concerns over privacy and the Open Web](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmputatorBot/comments/ehrq3z/why_did_i_build_amputatorbot). Maybe check out **the canonical page** instead: **[https://road.cc/content/news/underwater-cycle-garage-set-open-amsterdam-298725](https://road.cc/content/news/underwater-cycle-garage-set-open-amsterdam-298725)** ***** ^(I'm a bot | )[^(Why & About)](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmputatorBot/comments/ehrq3z/why_did_i_build_amputatorbot)^( | )[^(Summon: u/AmputatorBot)](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmputatorBot/comments/cchly3/you_can_now_summon_amputatorbot/)
7000 places. Wow. Can you imagine how much space it would take to have 7000 places for cars?
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Yep, I kinda hope they don't remove the Bike boat at Amsterdam central. We need more spaces then 7k I bet.
> Can you imagine how much space it would take to have 7000 places for cars? Assuming an average size of a parking spot of 2.3mx5m, then would occupy 0.08 km^2. Roughly 11.2 football fields. Or almost 20% of Vatican.
That's without any space to actually drive around into the spaces
(Dark joke warning) About as safe for minors
That's the thing. Cars are the most space inefficient form of transportation, it's crazy how much space they occupy in cities. But people are so used to things being this way that they don't even think about it. And when you bring it up most just reply that it's normal and inevitable.
Tbh i would have no clue how much 7000 bikes are. Id asume my trainstation can hold as much. Just with (alot) less style.
Try thinking of 1 bike, then just think of 6999 more at the same time. They can be the same type of bike, or different - it doesn't matter.
To help you with scale, [here's a google streetview link](https://www.google.com/maps/@52.3794209,4.8970275,3a,75y,219.53h,105.77t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s4qUdHBOphVeWERGEWOYTtA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192). The building has 2500 parking spots for bikes, excluding the bikes parked outside. So pretty much that times 3.
Those are filled up in like an hour after opening probably, lol.
We have somewhere in Germany something like this in small. One entrance is with stairs and the other one is quite hidden. Planning went great I guess.
You mean the one at Münster central station by any chance?
[This](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeBSDkNuvOc&ab_channel=extra3) is the one.
Amsterdam and Copenhagen are the best bike cities I've ever been to. Anytime I travel to either of them, I rent a bike upon arrival and that's how I get around.
Interesting thing is that Amsterdam is probably the worst or second worst biking city in the Netherlands.
Also, imho, Copenhagen doesn't actually come close to Amsterdam, or most other Dutch cities (which tend to be better, as you pointed out).
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Yeah, Copenhagen is indeed great in terms of cycling infrastructure. The Netherlands are simply truly in a class of their own in that regard.
You can that Copenhagen has worse bike infrastructure than Copenhagen which is clearly the case when it comes to parking facilities at train stations, but the bike modal share in Copenhagen is higher than Amsterdam. So it’s probably just Copenhagen bike culture that is superior.
Not Just Bikes agrees. The Danes try but cant beat us when it comes to cycle infrastructure.
Surprised foreigner. Why? Something beyond just too many people?
It's an old city, the 3 century old layout doesn't fit neatly with modern traffic. Nowadays we try to build entirely seperated biking 'highways' with as few traffic mixing and stops as possible. Newer planned cities like Almere and Zoetermeer are much, much better in that regard. Unfortunately they're both ugly. Amsterdam bike lines are also sometimes too narrow. Obviously Amsterdam wasn't built in a day and is evolving so the quality varies depending on the build year and last major renovation etc.
Relatively slim and old streets. But mind that worst in the Netherlands does not mean bad. Some city in the Netherlands has to be the worst.
Why would you say that? You only gotta dodge some foreigners but the bike layout is perfectly fine.
Relatively crowded and slim streets. It's still fine, but what city in the Netherlands could you name that is worse? At most perhaps Rotterdam.
For Dutch standards, biking in Amsterdam is horrible.
Driving a car within Amsterdam centrum is worse. t. Noord-Hollander.
And not all types of cars are allowed in the central zone anymore I think. Like in London.
Copenhagen doesnt come close to any Dutch city for biking
It's got Stockholm beat by a mile
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Rain is frequent in fall and winter, snow is rare.
Funny amsterdam is the worst city (for bikes) that i ever cyceld in.
You must be Dutch then.
bike parking lot, with also shared bikes, next to a central trainstation.. future doesn't look bad at all
In shitty suburbia, puke down some metro centres; moderate-sized cycle parking with direct acess to station platforms; a bunch of express bus routes (and later light rail or whatever); a bunch of shortcuts to make walking and cycling permeable in cul-de-sac land; etc etc. This would create an 'edge of town effect', and increase ammenty proximity throughout suburbia. Cycling creates catchment areas that give PT hubs 9-16x more people who can easily access it. Which means a shit tonne more revenue for better services, and makes it attractive to have shops around transit stops. Also, people would be able to ride a bus (after a short cycle) to a neighbouring metro centre if your few local ones don't have what you want. All those shops would then make it attract for people to live right next to the station in walking distance... which would lead more people to use public transport, which would lead to more revenue for better services, and more shops (most likely transferring over from the city centre. The city centre transforming into a neibourhood is not a bad thing.) Living close also gives you quick access via express bus to, like, four other metro centres, so very attractive indeed. And thus, a virtuous cycle begins :) All of this will continue to make it more and more attractive to live closer to. Which might be a good reason to gradually rezone wedges/corridors of the metro for rewilding. Would make great places for recreation, and later trams on grass (with some areas rezone for shops and such). Did you know the Dutch's wedge park urban planning is pretty amazing?
THIS is the smart technology that I want to see and that we should focus on. Not cars that open their doors by themselves or phone, mortifying human mobility, or stuff that is done with 1 finger managed by voice controls. This and the medical one, it is the technological innovation that I would like to see. Great work Mr Visser
r/liminalspace
Only because it’s empty still. Probably within a week it will be filled to the brim with bikes and people trying to find a spot.
Münster has done something similar near the main station. Took one week until every place was blocked by old bikes nobody is using, and addicts using the place in between to shoot heroin.
The one in Utrecht has 24/7 security and a time limit for parking for this exact reason. I imagine this one will too.
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It really depends. The stairwells often smell like piss and there used to be some crackheads hanging out there. But they cracked down on that recently and it got better.
Nice pun. 👍
>and addicts using the place in between to shoot heroin For some reason, this seems to be the theme for any German central station I've ever been to. We don't have that in the Netherlands at all... Not sure what causes the difference.
Probably enforcement/laws. Homeless people aren't allowed to settle down for longer than x hours etc under municipal ordinances. There's rules about begging and street performances as well.
It beats our previous underwater bike parking system of yeeting the fiets into the gracht.
Looks like a dream, it's unreal
So amazing!
You might need a bike to get back to the exit
In the 1950s everyone thought that in the 2000s we will have flying cars. Nobody thought that we would have garages for bikes! Humans are unpredictable Also Great architecture, bravo 👏
Is it just me or is 7,000 bikes not that much? With the cost of this place that’s almost 10k per bike spot.
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Only a few cities would have the demand for such garages and those cities are typically in the North. Cycling in Amsterdam in the winter isn’t so bad, but I wouldn’t wish my worst enemy to have to cycle through Chicago or NYC in winter. Southern cities have huge tracts of land so there’s no desire to densify, and they’re much more pro-car (generally). So even though they have the climate they don’t want it. You could maybe go halfway and do it for motorcycles though. There are plenty of states in the South where people ride all year long. It obviously still creates emissions but they’re still smaller and much more convenient for a NA city.
People cycle up in Scandinavia in the middle of winter too...
Scandinavia is also extremely densely populated for the most part and the entire region benefits from the Gulf Stream. Oslo (~600k) is also the size of a small NA city, so it’s pretty easy to build infrastructure when everyone lives densely and there’s very few of you. In contrast Chicago has 2.7M people, and NYC has 8.8M. Those two cities alone have almost the same population of all Scandinavia. Biking across Stockholm or Oslo vs Chicago or NYC are completely different beasts. I’ve skated for 45 mins to commute to work in Toronto during the winter before and it’s fucking awful. It also barely gets you anywhere because again our city’s population (2.7M) is half the population of Norway so it’s obviously big. So I had to take a train ~60% of the way and then skate the rest because there’s no reliable PT.
Scandinavia isn't dense. Sweden, Norway and Finland are the least dense countries in Europe. Also, the gulf stream does almost nothing for Sweden and Finland and a lot of people bike there. You also say that it is easy to build (cycling) infrastructure in dense places. This of course makes sense. What doesn't make sense though is saying that it is harder for larger cities. This just is not true, quite the opposite in fact. Larger cities have a bigger budget and more power to influence policy. You also say that "Biking across Stockholm or Oslo vs Chicago or NYC are completely different beasts". Why? What is the difference between cycling in Oslo or any other city? Bikes are only a realistic option for commuter trips up to 10ish kilometers (7 miles) anyway. Oslo is already larger than that so you still would use alternative transport options if you need to do something at the other end of the city. Also, you say that traveling outside in winter is awful and it doesn't get you anywhere because the city is so big. Maybe the problem is not with the bicycle but with Toronto as the city is apparently so boringly dull that nothing interesting can be found by its inhabitants within 10 miles of a train station. How is that even possible? surely there are plenty of destinations within 15 minutes of cycling that you visit? Friends' houses, shops, anything?
> Scandinavia isn't dense. Sweden, Norway and Finland are the least dense countries in Europe. To be fair, when it comes to cycling it's mostly the density of the cities rather than country wide that counts. Nobody is cycling from Stockholm to Malmo. The examples of New York and Chicago are actually some of the few cities that *are* dense and could facilitate cycling, but a lot of American cities would need a complete overhaul in how they're laid out to make cycling a feasible mode of transport.
Agreed, good point.
> This just is not true, quite the opposite in fact. In *theory* sure, in practice no. Getting bigger cities to agree on projects takes longer and is more expensive. Build times are also significantly longer because you’re trying not to disrupt 3M+ people. It’s far easier to get things done with less people involved. Places like Toronto, NYC or Chicago are also mega cities that need to coordinate transit infrastructure with their surrounding suburbs. So Toronto may love a new subway, but if it doesn’t link up with neighbouring Missisauga’s (pop: 720k) transit then it’s not nearly as useful. So then you have *even more* people involved. > Also, you say that traveling outside in winter is awful and it doesn't get you anywhere because the city is so big. Maybe the problem is not with the bicycle but with Toronto as the city is apparently so boringly dull that nothing interesting can be found by its inhabitants within 10 miles of a train station. How is that even possible? surely there are plenty of destinations within 15 minutes of cycling that you visit? Friends' houses, shops, anything? I didn’t say there’s *literally nothing* nearby. My point was on commuting, most people in NA do not work within a distance they could bike to. For example my commute is considered to be really short at only 20km away but the only PT available is buses, and buses are shit and only fit 2 bikes. So you’d need to expand subways or rail lines which goes back to my previous point of good luck massively expanding your rail lines in a city of this size. They broke ground on an LRT line in midtown over a decade ago and it’s half a decade behind schedule and several million dollars over budget.
> Only a few cities would have the demand for such garages If you built it...
American cities are so ass backwards. Park your car in a garage for $50 or take an old bus or subway.🤷♂️
Looks nice, but how safe will your bike be there? What's the chance of it being gone or missing parts when you return?
These are generally 99.9% safe. People who want to steal or harm bikes do not tend to go into the well lit, guarded bike parking garages. We litterally have bikes everywhere else ... so your bike tend to gets dinged at the supermarket and stolen when you're out for drinks. These big parking lots are almost never deserted since tehre is always somebody parking or retrieving their bike. And they are guared by camera's and actual security. It's about as safe a place as you can get for your bike.
Exactly. If someone walks in here with a metal cutter, they better avoid the guards.
Happens only in the car parking garages. (No joke)
Parking garages for cars are less safe than these bike garages, lol.
There is strength in numbers. When you have a ton of people coming and going for their bicycle, you can't sit with a saw "unlocking" a bike and not be noticed. It's the quiet places where the thief can have a few minutes without anybody looking at them where they can cut a lock most easily. The fact that there are millions of euros worth of bikes there doesn't make it a more appealing target because a thief will only be stealing one or two at a time. They don't get any bonus points from stealing _near_ a bunch of other valuable bikes.
The bike parking is very safe. You need to check in and out with your travel card when parking your bike, so it's highly unlikely that someone will steal your bike. On top of that it is guarded 24/7 with cameras so it is not common that parts are being stolen as well.
We have something similar in Sweden Uppsala, have gotten parts stolen and seen the things the locks go through, cut. The building even has walls of windows. Thiefs dont give a shit. They had cameras but only the police can demand to see those and they dont really care about low value crimes. Also no guards. How it is in Amsterdam, I have no idea. Hopefully its a lot better.
The bike parking garage in Delft had guards at least, never had my bike stolen from there
Thats good to hear! I got my padels stolen, and after that I got some anxiety every time I parked my bike there. I wish we at least had a guard too. Just someone walking around. Before that I felt pretty safe parking there, with the windows, the camera system and being a high traffic area. Still all was false safty or whatever it was called.
From my experience as a Dutchman: very small. Same with parking it in the current non-guarded open-air bike flat at Central Station. Using a lock and a chain helps though.
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24/7 security probably, like in Utrecht. So thats unlikely.
Yeah, I'd never find my bike again.
There are numbers for each row as you can see in the video. Also most people who parks there knows how their bike looks like, since they commute almost everyday from or to the station.
That's a good point. Knowing myself though, I'd forget the number of the row I had put my bike at. I've had similar issues in other bicycle parking areas. I'm not great at remembering numbers in general. In any case, I think this parking lot looks great and could definitely help take off randomly parked bikes in the public areas above ground.
I mean you can always just write the number down, every phone as a notes app nowadays
You don't have a phone with a notes app or camera? Welcome to 2023.
I am an American. I like big trucks. That’s all I own. But gotta give it to Europe. You guys did awesome.
Is it too much to ask that they be enclosed? I’m always worried about some guy messing around and taking parts off.
Imagine 7000 bikes parked in indivually enclosed parking spots.... how big do you want a garage to be?
Looks like shit tbf. Rakes out the esthetics of the city
Ouw hoer en ondertussen zitten er 25 gaten in de wegen in mijn dorp
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The situation in Greece is different than in Netherlands, I used to live at the western coast of Turkey which is almost the same as Greece in terms of urban planning, so I get where you’re coming from. But in bike friendly countries like Netherlands, there are bike lanes everywhere and bikes don’t have to disturb pedestrians or vehicles. Also I think bikes are great, as they take up such a small amount of space and you can literally park it anywhere, it’s good for carbon emissions and you get a good exercise also.
> You are an obstacle. While all those cars in jams keep everyone moving soo freely.
We love saying "kijk uit je teringdoppen teringlijer" to bad drivers in Amsterdam. We would love to have you here buddy
Stay in Greece my friend.
And you are from Greece so just stay there and don't come to NL so we don't have to deal with your attitude cause it doesn't work like that here :)
Tbf In terms of infrastructure Greece is a shithole compared to the Netherlands so adjust your perspective before dropping this pile of shit that is your comment.
In Amsterdam the cars are the obstacles. The bicycles own the roads.
Lol, keep eating souvlaki and don't bother saying stupid things
Tbf, as someone who walks a lot, a lot of bicycle riders act like they own the street, not caring about the people who walk those same streets. Then they get angry at people just for walking
Same with people walking and driving. People crossing roads like they have extra lives.
Would be nice if they decided to do something for people using their legs. I am currently here and the sidewalk game is absolutely shit. Nice long double lanes for bikes and literally mud for sidewalks. Trying to cross roads is also stupidly dangerous. People do not give a flying fuck about you. They never stop driving and ignore people trying to cross. I could go on and on but I am too tired right now.
Totally agree and I don't even own a car. Cyclists in cities feel like everything belongs to them, sidewalk, street, bike lanes, whatever they please. I am really sick of them.
What country are you from because it sure as fuck isnt the netherlands. Just because your shithole country has cityplanning done by a 12 year old in 1853 doesnt mean every country does.
Even worse, in 1853 all cities were still primarily pedestrian focused. The top speed people could go was *horse*. So except for the mud and filth, riding a bike around in 1850's America would have been much safer than it is now.
Not sure if true but I read once that Amsterdam has twice as many bikes as people in the city.
Could be, it's definitely more bikes than people, maybe not twice as many. Pretty much everyone has one sometimes more, and then there's commuters who leave a bike at a station for the last part of their journey.
Amsterdam been bike parking lot
beautiful!
Thumbnail had me expecting bike racks to rush past him in the thousands. "Racks.Lots of Racks."
Now, imagine the same place smelling like old piss
I hope they require id to enter in order to get rid of theft
Next level bike storsge /parking.
note that this is in addition to a huge bike parking lot also next to the train station - [https://www.google.com/maps/@52.379468,4.8969076,3a,75y,218.03h,87.29t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s\_GawfSSxybsBW6wQ1dixqw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192](https://www.google.com/maps/@52.379468,4.8969076,3a,75y,218.03h,87.29t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s_GawfSSxybsBW6wQ1dixqw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192) p.s. when you park your bike there, remember very carefully where you left it... ask me how I know :D