It closed in January 2023, as a new underground parking garage opened nearby. This under water Stationsplein Bicycle Parking has a capacity of 7,000 bicycles. An attempt to sell the fietsflat to Schiphol failed, because moving it to the airport proved to be too complex and expensive. In april 2025, the municipality decided to demolish the parking facility.[1] The demolishment will take place from november 2025 to february 2026.[2]
History
Alderman of Traffic and Transport of the City of Amsterdam Frank Köhler opened the Fietsflat on 5 April 2001. The bike parking facility was designed to be only temporary, needed during construction works around the Central Station area. It was to be closed in 2004, but kept open due to high demand of parking spaces. New proposals to close the structure in 2009 failed as well. In summer of 2017 the structure underwent renovations. The Fietsflat closed in January 2023, after an underground bicycle parking garage with the capacity of 7,000 bicycles, was opened on the front side of the station.[3] The flat was not demolished, but kept in reserve. It could be opened again, if it takes too long to construct the newest east side garage, with a capacity of 8,800 bicycles plus 450 OV-fietsen.[4][5]
Design
The Fietsflat was designed by VMX Architecten. The structure is 100 metres long, 14 metres wide and 3 storeys tall. Because the facility is so long and high, bicycling is permitted throughout. During the design process the designers had to keep a couple of strict preconditions in mind. The structure could not damage or otherwise penetrate the then newly renovated quay on which is resides. Also the canal boats had to be able to still make their turns in the Open Havenfront basin. To meet security needs the structure has been designed as transparently as possible.[6] The floors are inclined, which helps to keep unwanted people out because it is not comfortable to stay in for a longer amount of time. To ensure safety there is security personnel on site 24/7. The design was nominated for the NAi Architectuurprijs award in 2001.[7]
Expansion
There were plans to build a second, identical, Fietsflat on the IJ side of Amsterdam Central Station due to open September 2006. In April of the same year, the City Council did not approve of the 4 million euro budget. They opted for more flexible, faster and cheaper solutions with temporary parking spots on several locations, including pontoons and ferries.[8]
In 2014 the City approved a large new underground bicycle parking facility underneath the Open Havenfront at Prins Hendrikkade, right opposite the Fietsflat. In 2017 the City approved a large new underground garage in the IJ at the backside of Centraal Station. The underwater bicycle parking station at Prins Hendrikkade, which was opened in January 2023, has 7.000 parking spots, and by 2030 there will be a total 21,500 parking spots around Amsterdam Central Station.[9][10]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
