More Copenhagen than Copenhagen: We visited Utrecht, the city of bicycles

At the end of June, as part of the international CEAML project, we went on a study trip to Utrecht in the Netherlands, at the time ranked the world’s number-one cycling city. Journalists, public officials and politicians joined us, as did representatives of the partner organisation Cyklokoalície from Slovakia. We spent two intensive days with local transport experts, focusing on mobility and reducing emissions.

After an epic delay to our European Sleeper and further complications on the German railways (Jan Sůra wrote about them in detail here), we reached our destination around noon. At the impressive Bunk restaurant, located in a deconsecrated church, we were welcomed by Herbert Tiement, Senior Policy Advisor at Utrecht City Council.

“Utrecht did not become the world’s cycling capital by chance, nor because its residents ‘just love bicycles’. Its transformation is the result of more than fifty years of consistent political decisions, investment and thoughtful urban planning that has prioritised people over cars,” he explained when trying to answer the fundamental question from Prokop Vodrážka of Deník N: why does Utrecht top the Copenhagenize Index 2025? And how did it manage to overtake traditional cycling strongholds such as Amsterdam and Copenhagen, as well as the rapidly rising star of Paris?

1% fewer parking spaces every year

He added that a city where 60% of all journeys are made by bicycle has never waged and does not wage a “war on cars”. Even today, 430,000 cars enter the city of 360,000 inhabitants every day, but most remain in car parks somewhere on the outskirts of the city (each charging around €25) or in company garages.

“People in Utrecht have cars too, but they don’t drive them around the city unless they have to. We need and want to remove parking spaces,” Herbert continued over lunch. The plan is to reduce their number by 1% every year and return the space to greenery and people.

Because of its location in the centre of the Netherlands, Utrecht is the country’s main railway hub, with up to 200,000 people passing through the local station every day. Right next to it are two things that immediately caught our attention.

The world’s largest bicycle parking garage

The first of these is probably the world’s largest public bicycle parking facility. Since opening in 2019, it has provided space for an incredible 12,500 bicycles across three underground levels. Together with additional parking facilities in the immediate vicinity of the railway station, there is now space for 22,500 bicycles. We will return to this unique facility later. The second attraction is the Catharijnesingel canal, which has become one of the best-known symbols of Utrecht’s changing approach to urban planning. It is often cited as one of the world’s best examples of removing urban highways and returning public space to people. So, what happened?

Restoring the canal as a symbol of change

In the post-war decades, Utrecht, like many other cities around the world, sought to adapt its city centre to motor traffic. As part of an ambitious redevelopment plan, the city decided to fill in part of the historic defensive waterway known as Catharijnesingel. This took place between 1968 and 1973.

In its place, a broad urban motorway was built to carry traffic towards the newly constructed central railway station and the Hoog Catharijne shopping centre. Originally, there were plans to transform almost the entire historic canal ring around the city centre in the same way, but strong public opposition emerged against the plans.

Once concrete, now a piece of nature in the city

Since the 1990s, the city has been preparing to restore the historic canal. The aim was to return the city centre to its original character, improve public space and reduce the dominance of cars. The restoration itself took place in stages, with the final section refilled with water in September 2020. After almost 50 years, the entire historic canal ring around Utrecht’s city centre was restored, and we can now see the results with our own eyes.A restored historic canal with boats, lively pedestrian promenades, red asphalt cycle paths, trees and greenery, pleasant public spaces lined with cafés and businesses, and bicycles parked everywhere. “It was a long-term process, but believe me, Prague and Bratislava can do without their urban motorways too,” Herbert Tiement assures us. Over the next two days, we will see many more examples of these “disappeared urban motorways.”

Parking garages under the canal, garages turned into housing

Herbert also tells us that following the restoration of the historic canal, a multi-storey underground parking system was built beneath the Hoog Catharijne complex. Without it, he says, the city would hardly be able to look this idyllic in the Netherlands’ fastest-growing city. There are around 350 cars per 1,000 Utrecht residents. That is low compared with Prague, but cars still take up space. To ensure that the garages right next to the railway station are used not by everyone, but mainly by people actually heading into the surrounding area, the first hour is free and each subsequent hour costs €30.

Centre of Uttrecht

By contrast, public municipal above-ground parking garages are being converted into housing, which, as in other European cities, is in high demand here. We also notice that despite the bustle around the railway station, it is relatively quiet. Most of the traffic is motor-free.

So that everyone can get around more easily

We travel to Amersfoort, about 20 km away, the second-largest city in the province and the sixteenth-largest city in the Netherlands, with a population of 160,000. There, we meet Frans Luuk Bouwers and Vincent Wever from the local city administration. Vincent, who works as a Strategic Mobility Advisor, explains that the biggest challenge facing the densely populated city is currently a lack of space. This is one reason why the parking standard is 0.2 cars per housing unit.

“People still own cars here, sometimes even two, but they simply don’t use them as much. 34% of all trips are made by bicycle, while 29% are made by car,” he explains. In 2025, despite widespread concern, the city introduced paid parking. “You have to talk to people if you want to change their mindset and get them to accept the fact that they will actually be able to get around the city by car more easily. Streets aren’t inflatable, and building more roads isn’t the solution either,” he adds.

Low-emission zones are expanding too

Frans then takes over and introduces us to the low- and zero-emission zone system, which was introduced here on 1 January 2025. Frans acts as a kind of intermediary between transport companies and the city, helping businesses adapt to the new situation and answering their questions. To make the system as clear and consistent as possible for businesses, representatives of 17 Dutch cities, companies and the national government meet around the same table every three months to review how it is working. “After implementation, air pollution fell by 55%, which is more than we had even hoped for. Every Dutch person will now live four months longer. And that is precisely why we are here,” he explains. He adds that the larger the zone, the greater its effect. From next year, the local zones are expected to expand significantly.

Picturesque historic Amersfoort

Then we all get back on our bikes and set off to see the centre of Amersfoort for ourselves. It is a truly picturesque experience: we cycle along bike-friendly streets and narrow lanes lined with historic buildings, with absolutely no parking spaces.

I ask Frans how they managed to persuade local residents to give up parking, and learn that dedicated parking spaces for their cars are available a few hundred metres away — and that people are happy with the arrangement.

“They know it significantly improves their quality of life,” Frans tells me. His recipe for achieving this broad consensus is remarkably simple: explain, explain, explain.

Experiencing bicycle priority firsthand

We cycle back to Utrecht along the main F28 cycle superhighway, one of 14 continuous cycling routes connecting cities and municipalities in the province of Utrecht. The route is primarily intended for daily commuters. Much of it runs through the countryside on a high-quality surface, with sufficient width, clear signage and partial lighting.

The journey passes pleasantly. We encounter and overtake plenty of cyclists in “normal” clothes and experience something that is utterly exotic to us: intersections where bicycles have priority over cars — or where drivers simply let you go first of their own accord. A strange feeling.

We also experience the station bicycle parking facilities firsthand, leaving our bikes there, like everyone else, free of charge for 24 hours.

Superhighway F28

Tens of thousands of shared bicycles

The next day, we return to the railway station to meet Edward Douma, Bicycle Format Manager at Dutch Railways. He is responsible for the design and development of cycling services at railway stations, which also operate their own bike-sharing system with tens of thousands of shared bicycles. In Utrecht alone, there are 2,000 bikes that are almost constantly in use, as we see for ourselves at their station in the bicycle garage next to the repair shop.

They are simple bicycles with a digital lock that can be unlocked using a travel card, with no need to download an app. The aim of the service, which also includes bicycle parking, is to encourage people to choose a combination of bicycle and train for their journeys.

In Utrecht, the service is profitable, although this “transport hub”, as Edward calls his workplace, is more of an exception.

Entry to bike parking garage

“Bicycles are primarily used for 2.5–2.7% of last-mile journeys. At smaller stations, there is often no other way to continue the journey, so we cannot focus solely on profitability. What matters most to us is people’s convenience,” he explains why they do not leave bike sharing to private operators such as Lime or Nextbike.

The combination of a dense railway network and Dutch cycling culture makes it possible to extend the reach of individual stations without increasing road capacity for motor vehicles. Secure bicycle parking is, of course, an essential part of this. There are 284 bicycle parking facilities, mainly at railway stations.

Investment in cycling infrastructure has thus helped transform many destinations from being originally designed for “car only” into places that can be reached “by train and bicycle”. Thanks to the option of continuing their journey by bike from the station, passengers collectively travel around 56.8 million additional kilometres by train each year. There probably isn’t much more that needs to be said.

This is where the motorway used to run… and that’s not the end of the story

After touring the bicycle garages and collecting our parked bikes, we set off on a ride through Utrecht’s wider city centre with Mark Wagenbuur from Bicycle Dutch. At various stops, he shows us photographs of what the places where we are standing looked like back in the car-centric era.

Before and after

Before and nowWe discover that the transformation of the Catharijnesingel canal was far from the city’s only investment in a more sustainable future. Even as the world’s top cycling city, Utrecht is not resting on its laurels. It continues to improve the comfort and safety of pedestrians and cyclists. The city is building more underpasses, cycling bridges and bicycle streets where “cars are guests”; redesigning intersections so that cars do not endanger cyclists; reducing the number of traffic lights cyclists have to stop at; constructing additional bicycle parking facilities; and expanding zero- and low-emission zones. As part of its response to climate change, Utrecht is also investing in green and blue infrastructure and aims to become a climate-neutral city by 2030.

Cycle underpasses and bridges are an integral part of the local infrastructure

Infrastructure is key

The most important lesson from Utrecht is that people do not cycle because they have a “cycling mentality”, but because high-quality infrastructure offers them a safe, convenient and direct way to get around.

In Utrecht, there are very few places where cyclists “lose the thread”. Its network of red asphalt cycle paths is exceptionally continuous and intuitive. Many cities around the world have seen a significant increase in cycling after building high-quality cycling infrastructure, including cities in hilly terrain.

Utrecht simply started earlier than most and has maintained its investment consistently and systematically over the long term. And, just as in neighbouring Amersfoort, the city has not forgotten about other comprehensive measures, including low-emission zones and smart parking policies. That is why Utrecht is now considered a global role model for urban cycling. After our visit, we are convinced that it deserves that reputation.

Links to presentation

Herbert Tiemens: Tales from the best cycling city in the world

Frans Luuk Bouwers a Vincent Wever: What is our real challenge: a lack of mobility or a lack of space?

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