For years and years, the construction in front of the Amsterdam Central Station went on and on like a never-ending situation. The water in the Open Havenfront was pumped out, the site was rebuilt, reconstructed and transformed. Something about the excavated pit with anchored sheet piling walls and micropiles (anchor piles) that served as a foundation for the newly constructed bicycle parking garage. I know nothing about civil engineering.
This time-lapse video will give you an idea. 💡
Link: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=747526772962330
So when the construction ended, the city of Amsterdam invited the locals and interested parties to celebrate the renewed square. I had to be a part of it. 😎
It was 28 January 2023. The municipality of Amsterdam treated us to a fantastic day! With my QR-code ticket, I was able to join in the guided tour, hop on a short boat tour circling the train station, got an ugly photo souvenir to remember the day, ride on an old historic tram around the block, enjoyed the choir performance of Amsterdams Smartlappenkoor and ate poffertje. All parts of the public opening programs and participation was free!
We are celebrating the first of its kind in the world and the largest in the city with 7000 bicycle parking spaces hidden underground and underwater. The Stationsplein garage, on the Prins Hendrikkade, is more than just a bicycle storage. Embedded in the walls are Amsterdam’s watery past using photographs from the collection of the Amsterdam Museum and the Amsterdam City Archives, to form a series of growth maps showcasing Amsterdam from the year 1000 to 2000. It is a detailed pixelated art wall measuring 150 meters long. The ceiling lights are capped with more old photographs of the city. It also incorporates two Sgraffito artworks by Lex Horn (1916-1968), a Dutch artist, which you can’t miss as you walk towards the passageway linking Amsterdam Central Station and the metro.
Another parking facility, IJboulevard, at the back of the train station (IJ side of central station), opened mid-February 2023. This facility has 4000 bicycle parking spaces.
The city invested €85 million for these bike sheds to accommodate 11000 bikes! A logical investment for a country in which bicycles outnumber the residents?
After all, cycling is a symbol of Dutch culture.
FYI: Bicycle parking is free for the first 24 hours. After that, you pay €1.35 per 24 hours. Annual subscription is very affordable via the NS for €80 per year. Storage service is not for mopeds or cargo bikes.