Those who have travelled to The Netherlands know that bicycles are a sacred Dutch institution— for every person, there are 1.3 bikes, many of which have been passed through the family generations.

Utrecht, a rapidly growing city, has over 100,00 cyclists riding to work, school, university, public transport or home each day and the need for parking facilities that safely accommodate these vehicles.   

With the aim of being the most bike-friendly city in the world, the city has welcomed the opening of the world’s largest bike parking garage. The 17,100-square-meter space can store 6000 bicycles right now, and aims for another 6500 by the end of next year.

Located under Utrecht’s Central Station, the bicycle parking aims to have 33,000 spaces by 2020. While that figure is nothing to sneeze at, it seems that the local authorities are still not very convinced it will be adequate for the demands of the city.

Martijn van Es, spokesman for the Dutch cycling organization Fietsersbond explained: “To quote John Lennon, ‘life is what happens while you are busy making other plans’. By the time the politicians have made their decisions, and by the time things are built, there will be more people cycling.”