Monday 18 November 2013 saw the opening of the brand new underground bicycle parking facility at Stationsplein in Rotterdam. This spacious and colourful bicycle parking facility is equipped with the Easylift+ two-tier bicycle parking system.

It has a total of 5,190 bicycle parking spaces, of which 1,430 are guarded. There is a direct connection from the new underground bicycle parking facility to Rotterdam Centraal railway station and the public transport terminal.

Colours to match the metro station
The facility was designed by architect Maarten Struijs. One of his trademarks is the use of colour, which in this case matches the colours used in Rotterdam Centraal metro station. The ceiling, columns and walls are pearl white. The floor of the main walkway is red, while purple, blue, green, yellow and orange are used for the walkways with the bicycle racks.

Each walkway is numbered
In addition to having its own colour, each walkway is numbered and the handles of the bike racks are also coloured one of six colours. This makes it easier to find your bike again.

Sensors
To ensure that there is enough space for everyone, cyclists cannot use the unguarded sections as a place to store their bicycle. The facility has sensors which monitor how long each bike is parked. The bike will be removed if the limit is exceeded.

Source: www.rotterdam.nl

Easylift+
The Easylift+ is an easy-to-use, dual-level bicycle parking system. The bicycles are parked one above the other, which doubles the storage capacity. The system uses integrated gas springs which help you lift your bicycle to the upper storage level. A unique system of dampers ensures a safe and controlled hands-free descent when retrieving your bicycle. This makes storing your bicycle on the upper level a lot easier.
The Easylift+ is now also available with a centre-to-centre distance of 40cm. This will enable cyclists to park their bikes more easily and discourage people from parking their bikes in a way that inconveniences others.

• location: Rotterdam, the Netherlands

• location type: Train station

• customer: Ballast Nedam

• year of placement: 2013