A sufficient quantity and good quality of bicycle parking facilities is necessary in order to provide security against bicycle theft to stimulate bicycle use. Despite many innovations in bicycle parking systems in the Netherlands, the perfect system has not been developed yet. Bicycle parking facilities are often given insufficient policy priority. This paper gives a survey of the Dutch experiences with bicycle parking facilities, and limits itself to practical solutions to bicycle parking. It describes: (1) bicycle racks and stands. As regards the use in public space in the Netherlands, it seems that the main requirement of the parking facility is that it should be simple and user-friendly. For the road administration, it is of great importance that a rack or stand should be resistant to vandalism and, for widespread application, not too expensive; and (2) locked and supervised facilities for long-term parking. An important requirement is that it should be possible to safely park the bicycle at or near the home. The paper may be helpful in searching for the optimal bicycle parking system.
Samenvatting