Dutch citizens love getting around by bicycle, also thanks to the structure of their territory: finding a place to park, however, can be a big problem. To solve it, Amsterdam had planned in September 2021 an ambitious project, which today finally sees the light: an underwater parking for bicycles.
Thousands of bikes underwater
As part of a "comprehensive" makeover plan, the city of Amsterdam is making the area around Central Station more accessible to pedestrians by building two new bicycle parking lots: one underground, the other underwater. The works were entrusted by the architectural firm wUrck of Rotterdam more than 9 meters deep (it may seem little, but you have to consider that the Netherlands is practically on the water. Sometimes IN the water).
The happy task of cutting the ribbon fell to Vivianne Hejnen, the Minister of the Environment, who yesterday (January 25) officially inaugurated what is currently the largest bicycle park in the city. 7000 velocipedes carefully kept in a spectacular light and airy environment, obviously with an aquatic theme.
An underwater debut that will not remain isolated
The new underwater car park can be accessed from street level via fixed and mobile walkways. It's a great thing to see, but in my opinion the most beautiful thing is what you can't see. A structure of this kind not only has zero impact on the surface space, but also allows you to renovate areas that were previously used for something else. In the coming weeks, for example, a large part of the bicycle racks will be removed to improve the aesthetics of the entire station area.
And it didn't end there. The example will be a paradigm for other facilities of this type: next month it will open a second 4000-bike facility on nearby IJboulevard. Ah, if the same thing could be done (with the same ease, I mean) for the four wheels too!
