Great video, as usual, and it was great to finally meet you at the opening! I finally finished my video about this garage, and it's currently uploading to Nebula. I was half-expecting you to use that clip of me holding out my glass of champagne looking like a crazy person; I guess everyone will have to wait for my video to see it. 😉
It was great to meet you. Didn't even feel like we'd never really met before. Yeah, that was a weird sight, you and your champagne on an escalator. Maybe people could watch that at this 'secret' location ruclips.net/video/DyrwWNSBGn4/видео.html (and still watch your version of it later!)
Though the fancy and modernist style does show how much bicycles have become a pride for the Dutch and have become so intertwined with Dutch nationalism.
Definitely an improvement, both visually and for user-experience. Great to see the architects behind the project didn’t just go with the most basic parking and actually developed a nice & welcoming place.
This is outstanding architecture. Many other countries may get a huge benefit with the strategies used in Amsterdam. Bicycle routes, parkings and facilities are needed everywhere. Passive non motorist transport saves a lot of gasoline, money and give good exercise too for cyclists. Thank you for showing me such great project. We need lots of those things in the US, Caribbean and South America.
@@deinemudda1049 You got that right. Social architecture, collective transport convergence, double layer transport where bicycles enters trains and so on is the health of the city. The cooperation of different transport methods attenuates economy, promotes health and reduces stress.
@@GonaldDlover6 The city fabric requires a rethinking. These are old cities designed for PEDESTRIANS and slow transport vehicles. Even with contemporary motor vehicles, full integration of all transport methods facilitates JOBS, viability and better economy. Amsterdam UNDERSTANDS this why shouldn't we?
@BicycleDutch, I was lucky enough to visit the new bike parking garage last Saturday and it is really beautiful. Thank you for showing this to the world.
Tell me, isn't it much further from the trains and metro? It looks like quite a long walk. I suppose it was already quite long maybe in the old situation though
I’m an US expat from Chicago. One of the main reason why I moved to the Netherlands (The Hague) was due to the consciousness of the society and their use of bikes. I consider NL a “progressive country” and here in The Hague is like a “modern village”! So far..I luv living here!👍🏽🤪🌻
@@pfscpublic of you like to cycle, you can follow the knooppunt-routes. They are in all parts of the Netherlands. Every knooppunt has got a nummer and route from one number to the next as signiage, often a small green sign with the nummer and an arrow. At the knooppunt there is often a small map so you can choose your next knooppunt. Not the shortest route, but used by touristic cyclers in the Netherlands. And try to leave Amsterdam while cying and break de borders of "De Ring". You can hire a bike at lots of larger trainstations in the country. Most trainstations are also a knooppunt.
What a superb garage, oh to see things like this Britain. Here in Cambridge, supposedly the cycling city of the UK, it took two years and £2.3m to build a single Dutch style roundabout which stands almost totally isolated from any decent cycling infrastructure. Because it's 'different' people were grumbling about how it would work, long before it was finished. Until the attitude changes completely in other countries, there will never be real change. We need more than a line painted near the gutter to create a cycle lane, which ends when the road narrows!
And because that roundabout was designed wrong it isn't áll that functional either. There are many issues with it, the least of which is the priority for bicycles (an objectively worse way to do things, even in the Netherlands). But I seriously doubt it has features like reverse camber on the circle itself, and the overall setbacks are too tight. How they managed to spend too much money on it is a mystery. For example, this roundabout from my hometown, which is technically against Dutch standards, but it works too well hardly has any accidents. Ever. No near misses either: ruclips.net/video/q664_GjTyoE/видео.html Bonus poiints: that roundabout hasn't changed in over 20 years.
@@jaumesol3480 This was also filmed (linked in a reply to another comment by Jason about expecting the champagne glass going up the escalator clip): ruclips.net/video/DyrwWNSBGn4/видео.html
I live in Ontario Canada, where our corrupt provincial government is just initiating an unprecedented program of sprawling car-dependent development over vast areas of agricultural land and green space. I am so painfully jealous of Amsterdam.
Thank the Nimbys for that... I hope they're proud the farmland is being destroyed so they don't have to look at a godforsaken rowhouse in their neighbourhood 😱
@@toastsandwich2862 I am gonna blame the lobby of the developers and their DoFo ONConGov sock puppets. I have heard this before, that developers are giving the people what they want. What developers are in fact sticking us all with is the irresponsible shit that makes them the most money.
Not that I am in favor of unbridled sprawling developments in the least, but the fact is that within a few years after establishment biodiversity in most suburbs vastly outnumbers biodiversity in agricultural areas, at least in Europe. Pesticide, herbicide and fungicide dependent agriculture made sure of that. Thought I'd point out that ironic nuance for a broader picture.
It is wonderful! I am also impressed by the attention to aesthetics and details. That's how it should be. Other countries, my country, everyone should learn from the Dutch. Thank you for sharing🌷 💙💛🌻
@@timsoel566 , ears ago I encountered a frustrated commuter trying to unlock my car. I observed with amusement until I realized she was going to break her key in the lock. We had the same make, model and colour car.
@@test40323 a friend of mine had a Citroën 2CV in the 1980s. These had very basic locks. One day he was about to drive off from the parking lot when there was something not quite right about the car. It turned out his own car was just 20 metres further along the road! These cars had very simple locks in those days. Even our bike locks are better now.
Loved this video and it was great to see such a beautiful and spacey underground bicycle station! That clip of the man slotting his bike into the rack was oddly satisfying.
Warm greetings from winter northern Russia to everyone!😉When I see cyclists older than my age (I'm 59), I see an exemplary way to stay healthy so that you can have a great independent and active life in your 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. I've been riding daily for 55 years.🤗
My aunt cycled ten kilometers three to four times a week to her mother, to take care of her and do the shopping. She was eighty when her mother died, and only a few years later she went as well. Deep respect and good memories on this lovely aunt.
I really find it odd that cycling isn’t more of a culture in other countries/cities. It’s always my first choice before using my car. I just love it, I enjoy my journey, traffic doesn’t slow me down and I don’t have to worry about finding a place to park or pay for parking when I get there.
@@Deepz0ne01 if you watch the video, you would notice it;s free for 24 hours. 95+something % of all bike trips made here are by people who park their bike less than 24 hours, so yes it;s basically free.
If they are closing the top ones, the expectation is that 7000 will be enough? Or there will still be alternatives for Centraal? I mean... Delft has 5000 and it is pretty tight (given that not all people place them on racks but between the columns close to the station doors).
I did hear that the new parking garage has no space allocated to cargo bikes or scooters. I wonder if that's intentional and whether there are other places around Central Station where those people can park now?
they're meant to be parked in the second parking stable, which is on the river side of the station, also underground. sadly... it's still under construction, so parking cargo bikes is gonna be a little bit harder for now.
Great! I have seen only the construction going on at the stationsplein at near Central station. It is really a welcoming space, rather than a concrete bicycle parking we see here in Belgium
Is het nou wel zo'n goed idee om die andere fietsgarages te sluiten? Ik kan me moeilijk voorstellen dat die nu nutteloos zijn maar ik weet er natuurlijk ook niet het fijne van
I cycled from Copenhagen to Amsterdam this past fall, and in Copenhagen I was staying near the main train station - they really need to invest in a bike parkade, as it was hard to walk down the sidewalks near the station, there were so many bikes there. My only complaint was within 12 hours arriving in Amsterdam my bike was stolen, it was very hard to find hotels/hostels that had secure bike parking
Beautifully done. One way to decrease speed downhill is to create a surface that naturally slows you down. But perhaps the minute of travelator use gives people time to organise their belongings before they reach the racks?
It does! People can put away their belongings and find their wallet so they can check in their bikes. Of course there are the more adventures ones who still try to cycle down but most people stop after their first attempt.
@@KrulKrulSprietSpriet 'Hello everyone, today is going to be EPIC because today we are will finally visit Amsterdam's new bike stables!' (als je deze niet begrijpt, is niet erg, het is een erg obscure referentie, maar ik hoop dat iemand dit leest en zich kapot lacht)
Thank you for the great video as usual. Your English is so good, I thought I had to correct you. To "find the bicycle back" is not proper English. Just say "to find the bucycle". Please keep up the good work. Brian ex Brit, now Dutch Oosterbeek.
Great video, like always! Luckily they keep the Fietsflat there, however closed. As you write in your blog, they can reopen it after some maintainance and repair, and when needed. I guess the reopening will be soon as the new bike garage is too small within a month or so...
Wow...just wow! Beautiful, practical and efficient, how marvelous, thank you for showing us... I offer a green heart which is for the environment but also for envy 💚👍
I'm visiting Amsterdam next month for the new Vermeer show, is there a good site for bike hire, as we plan to cycle as much as possible please? How to hire cycles, good tourist routes, etiquette, parking etc. ...
How much space does it take up, and how much did it cost? How much space would have been required to make an underground parking garage for 7000 cars, and approximately how much would that have cost in comparison?
@@johan7781 Some outside parkings are already closed, as this clip shows. The amount of (visual) space taken-up by bike parking simply got too large over the years.
Wow, that's a pretty crazy upgrade. Looks very impressive. I do wonder though, how quickly will it fill up, and how quickly will they regret demolishing the old ones? Didn't Utrecht recently have to add a 2nd one to keep up with demand?
There's a second underground parking opening soon on the other side (IJ-side) of the tracks. One of the main goals of these projects was to tidy up the public space. Utrecht Station has 3 bicycle parks at the station: Stationsplein Oost, Jaarbeursplein, De Knoop. And still looking for more space 😂
@@kevonvideo Those two total to 13k dry and semi-protected spots. And a third parking will be built under the east side tracks, when those supply bridges are replaced one by one over the coming five years. This would lead to a total of about 20k covered bike spots around central station.
Besides the second one, there are bicycle parkings at Oosterdokskade (2 in fact, one at the Public Library and a Mac a bike) and then there is the parking at Beursplein. So in less then 5 minutes cycling there will be 5 parkings and in total that will probably exceed 20k places. The old one across Ibis could easily go...its not the most beautiful thing...practical sure but a bit ugly.
I pass by here almost every day but never seen it on the inside… looks neat :) I do see an almost constant stream of people coming in and out of the garage though, especially during rush hour!
So different from Eastern Europe. We have paths in parks and riversides but not in the cities. So, using bicycle as a commute would be problematic. I love nature, but I also want to go by bike everywhere.
Amsterdam and having to get of the bike for getting in the parking.. looks like there is a theme ;-) Besides that, 9m below surface, and only one floor of parking, or did I misunderstood?
A theme indeed! "Just" one floor is correct, but a pretty massive one as it hosts 7000 cycles + additional OV-fietsen. In a few weeks another garage will open on the north side of the station, which hosts 4000. The following garage is already planned on the east side of the station, which will host 8800 + 450 share-cycles (OV-fiets?), but it'll take a while to construct. It opens somewhere around 2030.
Actually no, because you won't spend as much time anymore on looking for a place to park your bike to start with. Besides that, the parking boat behind central station was further away
@@difflocktwo I am not going to cycle somewhere if it is more than 10 km's away. Our train network is reasonably good, so you can go to all Dutch cities by train easily. I have family and friends living in other cities and for work I sometimes go to other places as well.
@@difflocktwo it is my own unwillingness to cycle 38 kms to visit my parents. Or to cycle 80 kms to a friend in Arnhem. Even if I would have an electric bike I would take the train (or car, depending). It's not about infrastructure for bikes, which in the Netherlands is very good.
In Dutch there's a concept; "wet van de remmende voorsprong" If the rest of the world finally gets it's arse into gear, we're gonna be leaped and bounded.
As far as I remember the underwater parking garage was build specifically to replace the two surface parkings. Probably to reduce the visual impact of the area that the old ones made.
February 14 the next north side garage opens with a capacity of 4000 bicycles. This south side garage of 7000 bicycles replaces the fietsflat and other smaller facilities, that were built as temporary measures to enable construction works around Central Station. The fietsflat (2500 bicycles) was opened in 2001 and expected to close in 2004. Thanks to popular demand, they've kept it a bit longer than intended. They won't demolish it, but keep it, in case additional parking spaces are needed before the next, east side project of 8800 bicycles + 450 OV-fietsen will open around 2030.
I bet it's less of issue because the amount of inter-city commuters is lower, because Amsterdam is a good-sized city? Tho, they should have designed it like how Utrecht did, anyway...
@@C0deH0wler it probably was one of the better places to put it since they would need to make the placement fit with existing stuff like the metro lines underneath the station and canal walls. They also have one on the other side of the station (ij side) and that one is not as deep so has regular stairs with wheel guttrers.
It's a Dutch term for a role that doesn't exist in (many) other countries. It is a council member with executive power. Sometimes also described as Executive Council Member or even Deputy Mayor.
We have integrated locks that block the rear wheel with a ring. At 1:27 you can see how quickly that works. You turn the key and push a lever down. The lock snaps into place and releases the key. Takes one second.
The waterlevels are controlled, excess water is beeing pumped out into the sea. Thats how the country can exists, its constantly beeing flooded but the pumps get rid of the water. All waterways are connected by an water network which has been successful for hunderds of years. I have a small canal behind my house: when the big pumps are fired on I see the flow of the channel change direction and the waterlevel dropping within hours. Numbers: Through the rivers 2.5 million liters of water enter the Netherlands every second. Local rain adds another 200000 liters of water per second. The Netherlands outputs in a controlled way 2.7 million liters of water every second into the sea. Such big numbers give big margins, so there is actually less sever flooding in the Netherlands then there is in the neighboring countries. (Controlled way as in: a good water network, few bottlenecks; floodplains; pumps)
They have a small ringlock at the top of the back wheel, just below the saddle. It's standard on almost all dutch bikes. In places like this, it's enough. On the streets of Amsterdam, you'd better add a chain and lock the bike to a rack, especially if you have a nice bike.
Melbourne has no need for this much parking for bikes. Amsterdam does. It will be quite a while before Melbourne needs something like this. They need to build parking for the bikes they have now (and a little bit more than that, to encourage growth).
This looks very impressive! I just wonder what policies there needs to be put in place that people are willing to wait on an escalator and search there way through a big parking garage while not just parking it where they like. In Berlin where I‘m from there are plans for bike garages, but I think there needs kind of an incentive to use it if your bike isn’t expensive.
Can't just scatter bicycles everywhere in Dutch city centers without creating chaos. I only really know the Rotterdam CS bicycle parking garage and it's just amazing.
All the cities I’m familiar with you certainly cannot park a bike randomly in the city centre. If you did even before an official got to it, it would be vandalised or stolen . I would have thought the safety of the parking garage would have been a great incentive to use it.
The incentive is quite simple: Around the station, illegally parked bikes will be removed. You can retrieve them for a small fee (20 euro or so) from the city, but your lock will be cut, and, more importantly, the 'fietsdepot' is at a horrible to reach location somewhere in the harbour.
Have you seen Not Just Bikes video on bicycles in the Netherlands? Tour de France style racing bikes do exist, but they are much more of a hobby, safely stored in bike sheds & only let out on the weekends. Yes there are people that ride a fixi, mtb or recumbent to work, but they are very much in the minority. The day-to-day workhorse is a practical type; omafiets.
@@LeafHuntress Yes. Here in North America we always treat bike rides as exercise rather than for exploring places. Commuter bikes do exist, but in minority I guess. Thanks for your reply. ✌🏾
Just a heads up; The word 'flat' from 'fietsflat' is pronounced like the English word 'flat'. I'm from the Netherlands and had to read the subtitles when you said 'fietsflat'.
Here in Florida there is only word to describe what you just show: envy First world transit infrastructure, here we still solving traffic by adding more and more lanes. All for 99% of big SUVs carrying one person
@@Wielie0305 Same, I really used to hate headwinds but living outside the city and my bicycle being my primary mode of transportation ever since getting an ebike that's a good remedy. I'll still put up with it and use the appropriate gear and lowest or no assistance on most days. But when there's a strong headwind and lots of open fields for 10 km to work having a predictable travel time is a blessing. Regarding the escalator though it's also important to keep in mind that riding a bicycle isn't just done by the young and middle aged, this way as people get older and lose strength/coordination they can still walk on to it and keep the bicycle stationary with one or both brakes being applied. For most people they probably aren't strictly required, but it sure is nice to have especially when there are heavy objects in the pannier bags that have to be dragged up. This way everybody moves on it at a predictable speed that could be nice and less frustrating when you're in a hurry to reach your train but someone is moving their bicycle up/down really slowly and no way to pass them. Moving a heavier ebike up can also be a bit annoying with the extra battery and motor weight, but fortunately they tend to come with a walk assist where the motor will help with moving it up.
There are hills in NL, we even have an actual mountain in the kingdom. ;-) These travelators are more to get people down safely. Otherwise the attendants would have to deal with people falling down the stairs. More so in winter, with black ice etc.
@LeafHuntress But Mount Scenery is on the other end of the planet from the rest of the Netherlands. The highest point in the European part is still a hill.
3:33 nice - one person for video recording and other for speach. i mean it was always a pair conventionally too, but i had associated vlogging with single person's task lately.
I like most of the bicycle infrastructure ideas of Amsterdam.. they are right almost in everything. Although about this huge parking I am not so sure .. these days I tend to generate negative feelings for anything huge. I think the whole idea about liking cycles is mostly about simplicity and human scale .. with cars we were solving simpler problems in complicated and cumbersome ways .. so even with cycles if we choose anything not simple, easy and in human scale then may be it's again going the other way. For example looking at this huge (architecturally fascinating) parking .. I was just wondering how much of the travel time will be consumed by this parking .. i.e. the time to go down find a parking and go out .. my guess is at least 10-15 mins. Where rest of the avg cycling time would be more or less same I guess.
Now you have a space and not biking around for twenty minutes just to find a space with the chance your bike might be gone when you come back. And there is an entrance directly into the station so that saves time.
but the scale of cycling there is huge, so it needs something large enough do deal with the number of users. it's on a human scale.. just with lots of humans... so like a train station , not a motorway. pretty soon this will feel cramped and busy i'm sure. That said the bike parking in utrecht station looks better as you can ride into it.
this is parking for the existing large railway station serving a large number of people in a large city. With a population of almost two and a half million people in its metropolitan area. I don’t the the planners had the option of not liking large solutions.
@@mralistair737 let’s see the garage has a 9 meters drop to the entrance. The recommended maximum slope for a bike path is 10% ( 6% is more acceptable) so a more then 90 meter long entrance tunnel somewhere , call it 100m for comfort. Threaded through the foundations of Amsterdam.
We have two-tier bike racks like that outside the main station in Bristol. I hate them. It is so difficult to lock your bike to them. The manufacturer even has a video demonstrating it and they require two D-locks and cables. Imagine doing all that while crouching below the upper tier!
But now of course it isn't free for longer periods of time. Think of leaving your bike over a weekend to grab it during the weekdays to get to work. It isn't that expensive, but it's a difference.
I don't think it should be free. Public space is scarce, and everybody wants a piece of it. It's only fair to pay if you occupy it for a longer time. There are a million places to park your bike for free in Amsterdam, but close to the train stations, you pay 1.35 per day, only after 24 hours. That's just fair.
@@Pfooh yes, I can agree with this. And of course, it's not the first underground garage. But it would be interesting to see its impact on the free-standing bike parking in the whole area. It could mean more bikes there, but it could also mean less. Let's see.
They should have left the old boat parking open !! There will be enough demand for parking anyway .. Groningen Station has already 10k bike parking spots. Would A'dam CS have enough with 7500 ?! Very likely not .
It's paid with money that's need to be returned, so that's free to begin with for 24 hours is already a miracle in the most expensive city in the Netherlands.
Less convenient? I have always disliked the fietsflat. Time consuming to find a spot, and troublesome to find your bike after returning. This seems so much more convenient and comfortable. Also, the exit goes straight into the station, so also likely faster than the fiets flat.
Canals in Amsterdam already had underwater bicycle parking. Ask magnet-fishers.
LOL
😅🤣😂👍🏽👌
Yep ask Bondi Treasure Hunter. www.youtube.com/@BondiTreasureHunter
Yeah, but never for under 24 hours.
Altijd de grappigste! 😃
Great video, as usual, and it was great to finally meet you at the opening! I finally finished my video about this garage, and it's currently uploading to Nebula.
I was half-expecting you to use that clip of me holding out my glass of champagne looking like a crazy person; I guess everyone will have to wait for my video to see it. 😉
It was great to meet you. Didn't even feel like we'd never really met before. Yeah, that was a weird sight, you and your champagne on an escalator. Maybe people could watch that at this 'secret' location ruclips.net/video/DyrwWNSBGn4/видео.html (and still watch your version of it later!)
@@BicycleDutch NJB has a beard now? :O
@@Rebasepoiss Not Just Beards
Though the fancy and modernist style does show how much bicycles have become a pride for the Dutch and have become so intertwined with Dutch nationalism.
NJB i think you mean "bicycle stable" heheh
Definitely an improvement, both visually and for user-experience. Great to see the architects behind the project didn’t just go with the most basic parking and actually developed a nice & welcoming place.
This is outstanding architecture. Many other countries may get a huge benefit with the strategies used in Amsterdam. Bicycle routes, parkings and facilities are needed everywhere. Passive non motorist transport saves a lot of gasoline, money and give good exercise too for cyclists.
Thank you for showing me such great project. We need lots of those things in the US, Caribbean and South America.
You meant to say we need stuff like this all over the world, right?
@@deinemudda1049 Naw man only the Americas😎 other Continents can cry
@@deinemudda1049 You got that right. Social architecture, collective transport convergence, double layer transport where bicycles enters trains and so on is the health of the city. The cooperation of different transport methods attenuates economy, promotes health and reduces stress.
@@GonaldDlover6 The city fabric requires a rethinking. These are old cities designed for PEDESTRIANS and slow transport vehicles. Even with contemporary motor vehicles, full integration of all transport methods facilitates JOBS, viability and better economy. Amsterdam UNDERSTANDS this why shouldn't we?
@BicycleDutch, I was lucky enough to visit the new bike parking garage last Saturday and it is really beautiful. Thank you for showing this to the world.
Tell me, isn't it much further from the trains and metro? It looks like quite a long walk. I suppose it was already quite long maybe in the old situation though
@@Roanmonster it’s right next to the tram and metro stops and a quick 2 minute walk from Central Station! Super close to everything :)
I’m an US expat from Chicago. One of the main reason why I moved to the Netherlands (The Hague) was due to the consciousness of the society and their use of bikes. I consider NL a “progressive country” and here in The Hague is like a “modern village”! So far..I luv living here!👍🏽🤪🌻
Oh! Oh! Den Haag
Mooie stad achtah de duinuh!
Nice...was thinking of doing the same thing. Love it over there.
visiting next month for the Vermeer and hoping to cycle a lot Fenyoaee, any tips or recommendations?
@@pfscpublic of you like to cycle, you can follow the knooppunt-routes. They are in all parts of the Netherlands. Every knooppunt has got a nummer and route from one number to the next as signiage, often a small green sign with the nummer and an arrow. At the knooppunt there is often a small map so you can choose your next knooppunt.
Not the shortest route, but used by touristic cyclers in the Netherlands. And try to leave Amsterdam while cying and break de borders of "De Ring". You can hire a bike at lots of larger trainstations in the country. Most trainstations are also a knooppunt.
@@lonneketomas1200 thanks Lonneke I'll start investigating knooppunt routes - fantastic etymology for that word too!
What a superb garage, oh to see things like this Britain. Here in Cambridge, supposedly the cycling city of the UK, it took two years and £2.3m to build a single Dutch style roundabout which stands almost totally isolated from any decent cycling infrastructure. Because it's 'different' people were grumbling about how it would work, long before it was finished. Until the attitude changes completely in other countries, there will never be real change. We need more than a line painted near the gutter to create a cycle lane, which ends when the road narrows!
And because that roundabout was designed wrong it isn't áll that functional either. There are many issues with it, the least of which is the priority for bicycles (an objectively worse way to do things, even in the Netherlands). But I seriously doubt it has features like reverse camber on the circle itself, and the overall setbacks are too tight.
How they managed to spend too much money on it is a mystery.
For example, this roundabout from my hometown, which is technically against Dutch standards, but it works too well hardly has any accidents. Ever. No near misses either: ruclips.net/video/q664_GjTyoE/видео.html
Bonus poiints: that roundabout hasn't changed in over 20 years.
This is awesome -- and I'm so glad you finally met with Jason Slaughter of Not Just Bikes in the process.
They did? Source?
@@jaumesol3480 the expat inner circle
@@jaumesol3480 See Mastodon for NJB's post.
@@jaumesol3480 This was also filmed (linked in a reply to another comment by Jason about expecting the champagne glass going up the escalator clip): ruclips.net/video/DyrwWNSBGn4/видео.html
1:29 Love the commitment of parking an OV-fiets in the rack for demonstration purposes.
This garage is magnificent. I visited last summer and did not notice the construction.
it just opened a few days ago
It was probably already covered over again at that time.
24h free parking is great planning, too! Free for commuters, costs a little to store when away for a few days. Very reasonable!
most bicycle stations here follow the same ruling
Stunning architecture with so much eye for details, for a parking garage... for bicycles. In one word: amazing! Echt schitterend.
I live in Ontario Canada, where our corrupt provincial government is just initiating an unprecedented program of sprawling car-dependent development over vast areas of agricultural land and green space. I am so painfully jealous of Amsterdam.
Thank the Nimbys for that... I hope they're proud the farmland is being destroyed so they don't have to look at a godforsaken rowhouse in their neighbourhood 😱
@@toastsandwich2862 I am gonna blame the lobby of the developers and their DoFo ONConGov sock puppets. I have heard this before, that developers are giving the people what they want. What developers are in fact sticking us all with is the irresponsible shit that makes them the most money.
Not that I am in favor of unbridled sprawling developments in the least, but the fact is that within a few years after establishment biodiversity in most suburbs vastly outnumbers biodiversity in agricultural areas, at least in Europe.
Pesticide, herbicide and fungicide dependent agriculture made sure of that.
Thought I'd point out that ironic nuance for a broader picture.
It is wonderful! I am also impressed by the attention to aesthetics and details. That's how it should be. Other countries, my country, everyone should learn from the Dutch. Thank you for sharing🌷
💙💛🌻
For a Canadian, it's like time travel into the future. Do people ever pickup the wrong bicycle by mistake? Enjoyed the future tour! :-)
Strangely enough, we don't pick up the wrong bicycle, no.
You can't mistakenly unlock the wrong bike, although thieft can be a problem. These fancier garages are better, mostly because it has security.
I think I could ask you: do you ever take the wrong car?
@@timsoel566 , ears ago I encountered a frustrated commuter trying to unlock my car. I observed with amusement until I realized she was going to break her key in the lock. We had the same make, model and colour car.
@@test40323 a friend of mine had a Citroën 2CV in the 1980s. These had very basic locks. One day he was about to drive off from the parking lot when there was something not quite right about the car. It turned out his own car was just 20 metres further along the road! These cars had very simple locks in those days. Even our bike locks are better now.
If I lived in Amsterdam, I'd be stuck there for 2 days just looking at all the pictures and maps. I love that kind of stuff.
Loved this video and it was great to see such a beautiful and spacey underground bicycle station! That clip of the man slotting his bike into the rack was oddly satisfying.
Another gorgeous Place in a gorgeous City.
Super impressive! Gotta check it out one day. Thanks for the video, Mark!
Warm greetings from winter northern Russia to everyone!😉When I see cyclists older than my age (I'm 59), I see an exemplary way to stay healthy so that you can have a great independent and active life in your 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. I've been riding daily for 55 years.🤗
You want to hear the best advice for a russian to stay healthy?
Keep it up, nice to hear! Cycling brings you health and happiness.
My aunt cycled ten kilometers three to four times a week to her mother, to take care of her and do the shopping.
She was eighty when her mother died, and only a few years later she went as well. Deep respect and good memories on this lovely aunt.
@@rutgerb Playing indentity politics much?
@@rutgerb As I thought...
Never mind, I don't actually know why I bothered.
Have a good night.
NJB brought me there.
Greeting from Montreal! :D
All is good, but was it really the right choice to close the other garages? I feel like the others were far more convenient for a quick visit by bike
I really find it odd that cycling isn’t more of a culture in other countries/cities. It’s always my first choice before using my car. I just love it, I enjoy my journey, traffic doesn’t slow me down and I don’t have to worry about finding a place to park or pay for parking when I get there.
"or pay for parking" Did you even watch the video. Paid parking will never disaper, it just takes a while to adjust.
@@Deepz0ne01 if you watch the video, you would notice it;s free for 24 hours. 95+something % of all bike trips made here are by people who park their bike less than 24 hours, so yes it;s basically free.
Glad to have seen the remarkable old parking here. I even used it once. I think I'll like the new one better
If they are closing the top ones, the expectation is that 7000 will be enough? Or there will still be alternatives for Centraal? I mean... Delft has 5000 and it is pretty tight (given that not all people place them on racks but between the columns close to the station doors).
Thanks for the great look as always.
I did hear that the new parking garage has no space allocated to cargo bikes or scooters. I wonder if that's intentional and whether there are other places around Central Station where those people can park now?
they're meant to be parked in the second parking stable, which is on the river side of the station, also underground. sadly... it's still under construction, so parking cargo bikes is gonna be a little bit harder for now.
Great! I have seen only the construction going on at the stationsplein at near Central station. It is really a welcoming space, rather than a concrete bicycle parking we see here in Belgium
Is het nou wel zo'n goed idee om die andere fietsgarages te sluiten? Ik kan me moeilijk voorstellen dat die nu nutteloos zijn maar ik weet er natuurlijk ook niet het fijne van
Die grondprijs heeft vast de nieuwe garage medegefinancierd (gokje hoor).
I cycled from Copenhagen to Amsterdam this past fall, and in Copenhagen I was staying near the main train station - they really need to invest in a bike parkade, as it was hard to walk down the sidewalks near the station, there were so many bikes there.
My only complaint was within 12 hours arriving in Amsterdam my bike was stolen, it was very hard to find hotels/hostels that had secure bike parking
sounds about right
Yes, I'm afraid some people in Amsterdam love bikes just a bit too much. Bike theft is one of the most common crimes here.
@@MartijnVos Bike theft is a major one, but also simply stealing them to drop them in a canal.
Beautifully done. One way to decrease speed downhill is to create a surface that naturally slows you down. But perhaps the minute of travelator use gives people time to organise their belongings before they reach the racks?
It does! People can put away their belongings and find their wallet so they can check in their bikes. Of course there are the more adventures ones who still try to cycle down but most people stop after their first attempt.
@@KrulKrulSprietSpriet 'Hello everyone, today is going to be EPIC because today we are will finally visit Amsterdam's new bike stables!'
(als je deze niet begrijpt, is niet erg, het is een erg obscure referentie, maar ik hoop dat iemand dit leest en zich kapot lacht)
Thank you for the great video as usual. Your English is so good, I thought I had to correct you. To "find the bicycle back" is not proper English. Just say "to find the bucycle". Please keep up the good work. Brian ex Brit, now Dutch Oosterbeek.
To "find back" is very typically Dutch English, as you know. I quite like it.
Great video, like always! Luckily they keep the Fietsflat there, however closed. As you write in your blog, they can reopen it after some maintainance and repair, and when needed. I guess the reopening will be soon as the new bike garage is too small within a month or so...
Nope.. it will be removed...
Ohh that explains a lot about my last visit to central lol. Didn't know this existed. Was wondering where to put bikes now.
lol yeah, I guess if you are looking for a sea of bikes you would not immediately look under the sea :D
Wow...just wow! Beautiful, practical and efficient, how marvelous, thank you for showing us... I offer a green heart which is for the environment but also for envy 💚👍
Great video nice to see other places with positive Green energy designs
Any idea why they didn't make the way down a simple spiral cycling path? Just like car garages?
That would require a very large circle - much larger than for cars - otherwise it would become too steep.
How will the old bicycle parking lots be repurposed?
I'm visiting Amsterdam next month for the new Vermeer show, is there a good site for bike hire, as we plan to cycle as much as possible please? How to hire cycles, good tourist routes, etiquette, parking etc. ...
That is so cool I want to visit Netherlands
How much space does it take up, and how much did it cost?
How much space would have been required to make an underground parking garage for 7000 cars, and approximately how much would that have cost in comparison?
Are any places for cargo bikes? Thank you!
I have a question: Can I fit my tricycle in any of the racks?
what our the plans for the old bike parking places??? thanks for the show; always a fan
There is just more space for everyone.
@@johan7781 Some outside parkings are already closed, as this clip shows. The amount of (visual) space taken-up by bike parking simply got too large over the years.
Man Amsterdam is a heaven for cycle commuters like me hope i can settle here in the future
The whole Netherlands is!
Wow, that's a pretty crazy upgrade. Looks very impressive. I do wonder though, how quickly will it fill up, and how quickly will they regret demolishing the old ones? Didn't Utrecht recently have to add a 2nd one to keep up with demand?
There's a second underground parking opening soon on the other side (IJ-side) of the tracks. One of the main goals of these projects was to tidy up the public space. Utrecht Station has 3 bicycle parks at the station: Stationsplein Oost, Jaarbeursplein, De Knoop. And still looking for more space 😂
@@kevonvideo Those two total to 13k dry and semi-protected spots. And a third parking will be built under the east side tracks, when those supply bridges are replaced one by one over the coming five years. This would lead to a total of about 20k covered bike spots around central station.
Besides the second one, there are bicycle parkings at Oosterdokskade (2 in fact, one at the Public Library and a Mac a bike) and then there is the parking at Beursplein. So in less then 5 minutes cycling there will be 5 parkings and in total that will probably exceed 20k places. The old one across Ibis could easily go...its not the most beautiful thing...practical sure but a bit ugly.
In addition what people above said, it seems that the Fietsflat will be mothballed until at least 2030 (when the third parking opens).
Not just BIkes brought me here - as realtivly new Utrecht'ian - i'll come here more often :)
I pass by here almost every day but never seen it on the inside… looks neat :) I do see an almost constant stream of people coming in and out of the garage though, especially during rush hour!
A how it was made video would be great too. Can't believe it's under water.
It's your Lucky day, there's a timelapse ruclips.net/video/QZcq3R91YZM/видео.html
@@joostvandervelde WOW!
So different from Eastern Europe. We have paths in parks and riversides but not in the cities. So, using bicycle as a commute would be problematic. I love nature, but I also want to go by bike everywhere.
Amsterdam and having to get of the bike for getting in the parking.. looks like there is a theme ;-)
Besides that, 9m below surface, and only one floor of parking, or did I misunderstood?
A theme indeed! "Just" one floor is correct, but a pretty massive one as it hosts 7000 cycles + additional OV-fietsen. In a few weeks another garage will open on the north side of the station, which hosts 4000. The following garage is already planned on the east side of the station, which will host 8800 + 450 share-cycles (OV-fiets?), but it'll take a while to construct. It opens somewhere around 2030.
One disadvantage: the time it takes between parking your bike and reaching the station will now be much longer
Actually no, because you won't spend as much time anymore on looking for a place to park your bike to start with. Besides that, the parking boat behind central station was further away
Why use a train when you have a bike?
@@difflocktwo I am not going to cycle somewhere if it is more than 10 km's away. Our train network is reasonably good, so you can go to all Dutch cities by train easily. I have family and friends living in other cities and for work I sometimes go to other places as well.
@@claudiavalentijn1457 Is it the bicycle or the infrastructure that limits you to 10 km?
@@difflocktwo it is my own unwillingness to cycle 38 kms to visit my parents. Or to cycle 80 kms to a friend in Arnhem. Even if I would have an electric bike I would take the train (or car, depending).
It's not about infrastructure for bikes, which in the Netherlands is very good.
😍😍😊so jealous, what an amazing city for cycling
This is just not fair. How dare you Dutch people be so enlightened. The rest of us will never catch up.
Well, I'm Dutch but hardly enlightened...
@@mourlyvold64 try yoga 😉
@@Wielie0305 I do. That's how I know... 🤪
In Dutch there's a concept; "wet van de remmende voorsprong"
If the rest of the world finally gets it's arse into gear, we're gonna be leaped and bounded.
@@LeafHuntress en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_the_handicap_of_a_head_start
Now that's something different! 😮
It looks amazing, but I don't know why they are closing the two on the surface?
As far as I remember the underwater parking garage was build specifically to replace the two surface parkings. Probably to reduce the visual impact of the area that the old ones made.
The surface parkings are being removed to create more pedestrian space around the station.
February 14 the next north side garage opens with a capacity of 4000 bicycles. This south side garage of 7000 bicycles replaces the fietsflat and other smaller facilities, that were built as temporary measures to enable construction works around Central Station. The fietsflat (2500 bicycles) was opened in 2001 and expected to close in 2004. Thanks to popular demand, they've kept it a bit longer than intended. They won't demolish it, but keep it, in case additional parking spaces are needed before the next, east side project of 8800 bicycles + 450 OV-fietsen will open around 2030.
@@peterslegers6121 thanks for the info!
The parking garage in Utrecht is still way better as you can cycle in and out.
I bet it's less of issue because the amount of inter-city commuters is lower, because Amsterdam is a good-sized city? Tho, they should have designed it like how Utrecht did, anyway...
@@C0deH0wler it probably was one of the better places to put it since they would need to make the placement fit with existing stuff like the metro lines underneath the station and canal walls. They also have one on the other side of the station (ij side) and that one is not as deep so has regular stairs with wheel guttrers.
Where would I park my trikes? I'm able to walk, but not very far.
Right under the sign: "Verboden fietsen te plaatsen".
There are places in most bicycle parkings where you can put special bicycles like trikes.
Does parking place have mobile app that shows where there is empty?
Been there, built that - greetings from Slovakia👋
The racks are not numbered but the columns or alley's are numbered.
I usually take a picture of the number where I parked my bike.
3:01 what does "alderman" means?
Wethouder
It's a Dutch term for a role that doesn't exist in (many) other countries. It is a council member with executive power. Sometimes also described as Executive Council Member or even Deputy Mayor.
I guess it's a translation for the Dutch word/funtion Wethouder.
Do the bikes lock onto the racks? Is there another method for theft prevention I'm missing? Apologies if this is a non-issue. I'm from the US
We have integrated locks that block the rear wheel with a ring. At 1:27 you can see how quickly that works. You turn the key and push a lever down. The lock snaps into place and releases the key. Takes one second.
This would be litterally my dreams becoming true
THIS IS SO COOL
Underwater bicycle garages. City Skylines eat your heart out.
Way ahead of the pack!!!
Just beautiful
That's really impressive, but what if rain or happen a possible flood ?
The waterlevels are controlled, excess water is beeing pumped out into the sea. Thats how the country can exists, its constantly beeing flooded but the pumps get rid of the water.
All waterways are connected by an water network which has been successful for hunderds of years. I have a small canal behind my house: when the big pumps are fired on I see the flow of the channel change direction and the waterlevel dropping within hours.
Numbers:
Through the rivers 2.5 million liters of water enter the Netherlands every second. Local rain adds another 200000 liters of water per second.
The Netherlands outputs in a controlled way 2.7 million liters of water every second into the sea. Such big numbers give big margins, so there is actually less sever flooding in the Netherlands then there is in the neighboring countries.
(Controlled way as in: a good water network, few bottlenecks; floodplains; pumps)
You really questioning if the Dutch could handle water???? Really??
very spacious bicycle parking lot in Ansterdam. It is very easy for workers who are doing activities.
Honest question: I saw many bikes there without locks, is bike theft not a problem there?
All bicycles have a lock, you just did not see them. Bike theft is a big annoyance, you cant leave your bike unlocked
They have a small ringlock at the top of the back wheel, just below the saddle. It's standard on almost all dutch bikes. In places like this, it's enough. On the streets of Amsterdam, you'd better add a chain and lock the bike to a rack, especially if you have a nice bike.
@@rutgerb OH thanks. Yeah, you are right, at first I did not see that.
@@Pfooh Dank U!
Is there any mechanism to avoid the discolouration of the white floor?
theyre not made out of plastic ;p
Mop the floor daily ...
@@robertrijkers947, all materials do show stains, right?
Wow man, you dutch people are on the vanguard of this kind of facilities. N.1 in Europe, bycicle talking
If only Melbourne has one. I’ll keep dreaming.
Melbourne has no need for this much parking for bikes. Amsterdam does. It will be quite a while before Melbourne needs something like this. They need to build parking for the bikes they have now (and a little bit more than that, to encourage growth).
Amazing infrastructure, desperately needed in other big cities.
What kind of card should use to get to the parking?
Ov-card. It's the public transport card used for all public transport services in the Netherlands.
The check in area is very small
Can't wait to get lost in there when I visit next week. ✈
This looks very impressive! I just wonder what policies there needs to be put in place that people are willing to wait on an escalator and search there way through a big parking garage while not just parking it where they like. In Berlin where I‘m from there are plans for bike garages, but I think there needs kind of an incentive to use it if your bike isn’t expensive.
Do a little research about bike parking around central station. You realise that this is the best alternative
Can't just scatter bicycles everywhere in Dutch city centers without creating chaos. I only really know the Rotterdam CS bicycle parking garage and it's just amazing.
All the cities I’m familiar with you certainly cannot park a bike randomly in the city centre. If you did even before an official got to it, it would be vandalised or stolen . I would have thought the safety of the parking garage would have been a great incentive to use it.
The incentive is quite simple: Around the station, illegally parked bikes will be removed. You can retrieve them for a small fee (20 euro or so) from the city, but your lock will be cut, and, more importantly, the 'fietsdepot' is at a horrible to reach location somewhere in the harbour.
Well if you don't park it in one of the designated places it just gets removed. Thats incentive enough for the vast majority
Wow! Simply wow!! How about the safety? Did not see any road bike in the video, mostly are steel commuter bikes.
Have you seen Not Just Bikes video on bicycles in the Netherlands?
Tour de France style racing bikes do exist, but they are much more of a hobby, safely stored in bike sheds & only let out on the weekends. Yes there are people that ride a fixi, mtb or recumbent to work, but they are very much in the minority.
The day-to-day workhorse is a practical type; omafiets.
@@LeafHuntress Yes. Here in North America we always treat bike rides as exercise rather than for exploring places. Commuter bikes do exist, but in minority I guess.
Thanks for your reply. ✌🏾
What are they gonna do with the old bicycle garages??
sending to the US and Canada
@@h50herman Yes, we like to help out countries that are behind.
Can an electric scooter fit there in the garage?
mopeds not allowed
Just a heads up; The word 'flat' from 'fietsflat' is pronounced like the English word 'flat'. I'm from the Netherlands and had to read the subtitles when you said 'fietsflat'.
I can't wait to park my bike there and never go back to pick it up 😂
Here in Florida there is only word to describe what you just show: envy
First world transit infrastructure, here we still solving traffic by adding more and more lanes. All for 99% of big SUVs carrying one person
Absolutely amazing!
I think it's funny that the Dutch are so unfamiliar with hills that they put in an escalator for bikes at even a slight incline.
Hahaha. We do have hills you know. Little ones of course, as we have aquaducts and viaducts. Personally I hate inclines and headwind.
@@Wielie0305 Same, I really used to hate headwinds but living outside the city and my bicycle being my primary mode of transportation ever since getting an ebike that's a good remedy. I'll still put up with it and use the appropriate gear and lowest or no assistance on most days. But when there's a strong headwind and lots of open fields for 10 km to work having a predictable travel time is a blessing.
Regarding the escalator though it's also important to keep in mind that riding a bicycle isn't just done by the young and middle aged, this way as people get older and lose strength/coordination they can still walk on to it and keep the bicycle stationary with one or both brakes being applied.
For most people they probably aren't strictly required, but it sure is nice to have especially when there are heavy objects in the pannier bags that have to be dragged up. This way everybody moves on it at a predictable speed that could be nice and less frustrating when you're in a hurry to reach your train but someone is moving their bicycle up/down really slowly and no way to pass them. Moving a heavier ebike up can also be a bit annoying with the extra battery and motor weight, but fortunately they tend to come with a walk assist where the motor will help with moving it up.
There are hills in NL, we even have an actual mountain in the kingdom. ;-)
These travelators are more to get people down safely. Otherwise the attendants would have to deal with people falling down the stairs. More so in winter, with black ice etc.
@LeafHuntress But Mount Scenery is on the other end of the planet from the rest of the Netherlands. The highest point in the European part is still a hill.
@@TheSJCieply 4800 m Mnt Blanc, 5642 m Elbroes in Russia (is also Europe)
I'm impressed
3:33 nice - one person for video recording and other for speach. i mean it was always a pair conventionally too, but i had associated vlogging with single person's task lately.
And if not enough.. prorail announcd that as part of the renovation of Amsterdam Centraal a new bike parking for 9000 bikes will be build..... 😊
I like most of the bicycle infrastructure ideas of Amsterdam.. they are right almost in everything. Although about this huge parking I am not so sure .. these days I tend to generate negative feelings for anything huge. I think the whole idea about liking cycles is mostly about simplicity and human scale .. with cars we were solving simpler problems in complicated and cumbersome ways .. so even with cycles if we choose anything not simple, easy and in human scale then may be it's again going the other way.
For example looking at this huge (architecturally fascinating) parking .. I was just wondering how much of the travel time will be consumed by this parking .. i.e. the time to go down find a parking and go out .. my guess is at least 10-15 mins. Where rest of the avg cycling time would be more or less same I guess.
Now you have a space and not biking around for twenty minutes just to find a space with the chance your bike might be gone when you come back. And there is an entrance directly into the station so that saves time.
but the scale of cycling there is huge, so it needs something large enough do deal with the number of users. it's on a human scale.. just with lots of humans... so like a train station , not a motorway. pretty soon this will feel cramped and busy i'm sure.
That said the bike parking in utrecht station looks better as you can ride into it.
Yes Utrecht solution is better, being able to ride into makes sense a lot.
this is parking for the existing large railway station serving a large number of people in a large city. With a population of almost two and a half million people in its metropolitan area. I don’t the the planners had the option of not liking large solutions.
@@mralistair737 let’s see the garage has a 9 meters drop to the entrance. The recommended maximum slope for a bike path is 10% ( 6% is more acceptable) so a more then 90 meter long entrance tunnel somewhere , call it 100m for comfort. Threaded through the foundations of Amsterdam.
Can it get any better than this?
*Cough* Utrecht Centraal Station *cough*
We have two-tier bike racks like that outside the main station in Bristol. I hate them. It is so difficult to lock your bike to them. The manufacturer even has a video demonstrating it and they require two D-locks and cables. Imagine doing all that while crouching below the upper tier!
But now of course it isn't free for longer periods of time. Think of leaving your bike over a weekend to grab it during the weekdays to get to work. It isn't that expensive, but it's a difference.
I don't think it should be free. Public space is scarce, and everybody wants a piece of it. It's only fair to pay if you occupy it for a longer time. There are a million places to park your bike for free in Amsterdam, but close to the train stations, you pay 1.35 per day, only after 24 hours. That's just fair.
@@Pfooh yes, I can agree with this. And of course, it's not the first underground garage. But it would be interesting to see its impact on the free-standing bike parking in the whole area. It could mean more bikes there, but it could also mean less. Let's see.
They should have left the old boat parking open !! There will be enough demand for parking anyway .. Groningen Station has already 10k bike parking spots. Would A'dam CS have enough with 7500 ?! Very likely not .
It's paid with money that's need to be returned, so that's free to begin with for 24 hours is already a miracle in the most expensive city in the Netherlands.
@@lws7394 I heard they are in the process of building 20.000 bicycle parking spots around the station.
Wow - I want to visit this place!
It honestly seems to be a much more cumbersome and less convenient solution compared to the old Fietsflat.
Less convenient? I have always disliked the fietsflat. Time consuming to find a spot, and troublesome to find your bike after returning. This seems so much more convenient and comfortable. Also, the exit goes straight into the station, so also likely faster than the fiets flat.
Happy your bypass when well .
wonderfull garage
This looks amazing :)
Technically Amsterdam is entirely underwater
Clouds contain water thus technically we are all under water.