One Minute at The Hague Central Station

2012 05 10 Urban Commuter Ottawa - Den Haag CS 1 — Jan Gehl explains in his book "Cities for people' that you need space for people to hang out along the edges of larger spaces. Den Haag did just that. at the square in front of the Central Train Station.

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The last three posts probably gave you a peek into every day cycling in The Hague. If you are in the down town area, you always see cyclists, no matter what time of day. However, there is one spot where many seem to converse: Central Station. People cycle to and fro the station.

2012 05 10 Urban Commuter Ottawa - Den Haag CS 2 — Ahmmm, where is my bike?

Below are a few very random pictures that I took probably half a minute apart. There is a steady stream of cyclists coming and going to the station. (There is a large square, currently being redesigned). People leave their bike and take the train or arrive by train and cycle to their final destination. The Hague doesn’t even have a very high bike modal share, I believe about 18% of the trips is taken by bike. Compare that with a nation wide average of around 30% and a place like Amsterdam with over 50%. The Hague built a smaller open space for bike storage in front of the station (see pics), but has another bicycle parking at the side of the station underground.

2012 05 10 Urban Commuter Ottawa - Den Haag CS 4 — An everyday cyclist.

2012 05 10 Urban Commuter Ottawa - Den Haag CS 5 — 10 seconds later, another everyday cyclist.

2012 05 10 Urban Commuter Ottawa - Den Haag CS 6 — And there goes another one….

2012 05 10 Urban Commuter Ottawa - Den Haag CS 7 — ..and another one…

2012 05 10 Urban Commuter Ottawa - Den Haag CS 8 — …and another one.

2012 05 10 Urban Commuter Ottawa - Den Haag CS 9 — And three more, one talking on her cell.

And then they turn into the bike parking, which – I predict- will soon be overflowing again at all four sides. Just like widening roads with more lanes attract more cars, more bike infrastructure will attract more bicycles.