Bike Garage Utrecht

Hello, my name is Henrike Kramer (Rike to all)!

I started this project for my Bachelor thesis at the Bauhaus University in Weimar, Germany, where I am currently studying architecture.

The faculty chair I work with is called „Urban Design“ and, as the name suggests, they are very interested in city infrastructure, as well as the correlation between the lack of living space and climate change.

A big part of climate change are the methods of transportation, and the Netherlands are pioneers when it comes to eco-friendly transportation: As a country of passionate cyclists, the Netherlands is the only country in the world that has more bicycles than inhabitants. (source: Gemeente Utrecht, Netherlands)

The biggest biking garage in the world is located in Utrecht, and holds up to 12500 bikes. As an urban project that is very important for Utrechts infrastructure, and as a symbol for positive change it is a great project to analyse and learn from.

Biking in one of the most bike-friendly cities in the world. Utrecht uses a lot of different methods to make traveling by bike easier: the different pavements signal different users, and sometimes make it harder to pass bikes by car. The bike lanes are wide and very well connected to each other, and traffic lights are specifically designed for cyclists and allow them equality, even partial preference, with respect to other road users.

These are just a few excerpts to provide a rough overview of the largest bicycle parking garage in the world. Starting outside, on the square between the main station and the shopping mall, then entering the bike garage itself, you can see the different paths inside the garage, the bike rental area and more.