A'dam to spend €200m on bike parking, paths

The City of Amsterdam will invest a total of €200 million in the Long-Term Cycle Plan 2012-2016, to combat bicycle related parking issues and improve the cycle network in the City. Amsterdam locals are currently cycling about 2 million km a day, and bicycle usage has grown with 40 percent over the past 20 years. The plan will provide 40,000 extra bike parking spaces in addition to 15 km of new bike lanes. Overcrowded bike racks near Central Stations and narrow bike lanes, trying to digest an increasing volume of bicycle traffic, bear witness of cycling being a popular, cheap, and important means of transportation in the Netherlands.

'Amsterdam benefits from more people using bikes' and 'increased bicycle usage equates to annual savings of €20 million on public transportation and another € 20 million on car infrastructure,' said alderman Maarten van Poelgeest of traffic, when commenting on the developments. The City Council decided on an accelerated introduction of additional measures to relieve the stress on cyclists, by issuing research into a measure that provides extra space for cyclists at crossings, a so-called green wave, and the coordination of removal of abandoned bikes. In some places in the city bicycles are permitted a maximum amount of parking time; the city wants to extend this measure. Additional temporary parking places will be realized near the Central Station to improve accessibility, and pop-up storage locations that can be set up where and when needed. In the Long-Term-Plan 2012-2016 40,000 parking places will be realized underground at Amsterdam Central, along the "Rode Loper" areas, around Leidseplein, and at Mahlerplein near Station South.