October 9, 2020 - Population 1.307 million – Utrecht is regularly rated as one of the best cities for cycling in the world. Since 2013, it has bounced between the second and third spot on the Copenhagenize Index and appeared on a variety of other lists of top cycling cities.

Despite this overwhelming recognition, it still strives to do better. Utrecht has laid out an action plan with the goal “to become a world-class bicycle city,” which includes doubling bicycle usage for commuting purposes in the city’s core by 2030.

A lack of secure bike parking is a common problem in many places, but in a city where 96% of residents own a bike and over 100,000 people cycle through the city centre every day, it’s a problem of a different magnitude. Accordingly, Utrecht set out to build the world’s largest bike parking garage, with space for over 12,500 bikes. Perhaps you were one of the over 15,000 people who took a video tour of this impressive structure when it opened in August 2019.

The city has also invested in building and improving cycling infrastructure, with an average annual investment of $55 million. Utrecht’s cycling network currently includes over 400km of dedicated bike lanes. Before starting secondary school, children in Utrecht, and across the Netherlands, take a traffic test, which includes a 6km bike ride through the city’s bicycle-friendly streets.

Utrecht is one of two Dutch cities ranked in the global top three by the Copenhagenize Index, with Amsterdam in second spot. The Netherlands is a country known for cycling, and as cities like Utrecht and Amsterdam continue to invest in making it safer and more convenient. The country is also seeing a rise in e-biking and it was recently reported that sales of e-bikes have surpassed sales of adult conventional bikes.