Bicyclist’s Needs Surge In a City
UTRECHT, the Netherlands — When officials unveiled the first section of the world’s largest bike parking garage here in August, the feeling of accomplishment was short-lived.
While many of the 6,000 new bike parking spots filled quickly, city engineers focused on the work ahead: creating thousands more such spots and hundreds more kilometers of bike paths to ensure that even more Utrecht residents can comfortably commute by bike.
“We found that if you build it, people will use it,” said Lot van Hooijdonk, a vice mayor, about the seemingly insatiable demand for bike infrastructure.
Utrecht, with 330,000 residents, is the Netherlands’ fourth-largest and fastest- growing city. It recently surpassed Amsterdam in a respected ranking of bike- friendly cities and is now second only to Copenhagen.
More than a quarter of all trips in the Netherlands are made by bicycle, and the federal government has been building bike infrastructure over the last decade. The yearly investment of roughly 500 million euros, or about $600 million, pays for itself, proponents say, by reducing health, social and other costs.
In a country where there are more bikes than people — 22.5 million vs. 18 million — daily usage has grown 11 percent in the last decade. The country’s preference for the bicycle could save it $23 billion each year, according to a recent study done at Utrecht University. It suggested that the Netherlands’ vigorous cycling habits prevented 6,500 premature deaths each year.
Utrecht has brought the average number of daily bike trips to 125,000. The city estimates these are worth $300 million in socioeconomic benefits that include health care savings, reduced air pollution and increased productivity. The yearly city budget includes an average $55 million for bike infrastructure projects and improvements.
Utrecht spent several postwar decades trying to make automobile use easier. The effort included building a four-lane highway over centuries- old canals, making space for parked cars on its narrow cobblestone streets, and planning for a highway that was to cross the medieval city’s cathedral square.
Decades later, the concept of progress looks quite different. At a new elementary school, the green roof serves as an access ramp to a bicycle and pedestrian bridge that stretches 110 meters across the Amsterdam Rhine canal, a major water thoroughfare. Utrecht’s cycling network includes nearly 400 kilometers of dedicated bike lanes.
Besides its size, the Utrecht Central Station biking garage boasts several innovations. Cyclists can check in and find their spot while riding their bikes. Sensors on the racks give real-time information.
The project’s cost, $ 48 million, was paid not just by the city, but also by the region and the national train service, which recognizes that increasing bike parking leads to an increase in riders.
Ms. van Hooijdonk, who rides her bike to work, said, “Cycling is like a piece of magic: It only has advantages.”