Underground bicycle parking Leidseplein, Amsterdam

For the Dutch, cycling is a common mode of transport. But in a nation with more bicycles than people, finding a space to park a bicycle can be a challenge. As a result, streets and squares have been filling up with bicycles and parking a bicycle in the inner city is increasingly a problem. For many years, the Leidseplein square in Amsterdam has been filled with more than 2.000 bicycles every day. But that is now a thing of the past.

To increase the quality of life on the Leidseplein square and to make better use of the scarce public space a free bicycle parking has been constructed underneath the square. This new parking ensures that bicycles are no longer parked at street level, allowing more space for pedestrians on the square above and creating a renewed meeting place for the city.

The forty bronze lizards, a work of art by Van Houwelingen, have returned to the park and are integrated in the design of this parking. Along with the reconstructed bridge over the Lijnbaans canal, which is in the characteristic style of the Amsterdam School, this is a leading visual element in the design of the bicycle parking and its entrance.

The bicycle parking has wider paths and a higher ceiling (3.20 m) than most facilities for storing bicycles. It is light, spacious and transparent with a pleasant atmosphere, which contributes to social safety. As the popularity of e-bikes is increasing rapidly, the parking also offers charging points.