The Hague’s impressive 2020 modern bike garage solution

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The Hague – Biking is popular in the Netherlands, as any traveller who’s ever visited can attest. Not only is it a wildly popular activity for locals and tourists alike and a great way to explore an city, much of the country’s infrastructure – the road and transportation network – are built with cyclists in mind. The new example includes one of the world’s biggest bicycle parking garages opened in The Hague. Visiting it with space for 8000 bikes is like visiting an ultramodern, futuristic museum or airport.

The gigantic parking garage, situated underneath a plaza right in front of the central station, makes it extremely easy for users to access trains to get out and explore the wider area. Recently the garage was completed, with an urban development project currently underway for the above-ground sector. When completed, the on-site commercial and residential buildings will also have exits linked to the bike garage for ease of use. Where some bike garages are dark and have low ceilings, this new one is bright and spacious, and has electronic smart directional markings which show visitors the exact number of vacant spaces in each aisle as they cycle through the building.

Photographer: Mike Bink

Cycling is also praised as a great way of seeing both the city and the countryside. With bikes available to rent almost anywhere, and a flat landscape that makes it easy to ride at a leisurely rate, maybe no other country in the world is better suited to cycling. The Netherlands boasts thousands of miles of bike lanes and paths which connect most parts of the country with countless scenic routes.

Photographer: Mike Bink

“Cycling is healthy for humans and healthy for the climate. In the Netherlands towns, travelling from A to B is the most convenient and sometimes the quickest route. Also, after COVID-19, the bicycle has become an increasingly popular means of transportation”

He also said the concept had been influenced by one of the most famous graphic designers in the Netherlands. “We have built a luminous cityscape similar to the works of Dutch graphic artist M.C by subtly linking facade elements of The Hague’s iconic buildings together. Escher. Escher. We were inspired by the impression one gets at high speed from cycling through a town. Buildings tend to merge in one continuous flow into another. A visit to a parking garage by bicycle has never been such a museum experience, free admission!

Credit: Silo as the designer; Rene Toneman, Creative Director of Silo the person quoted; Photographer: Mike Bink

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