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Netherlands Utrecht city builds car-free district for 12,000 people

WION Web Team
New Delhi Updated: Mar 16, 2020, 02:10 PM IST
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It is expected to be serviced by 20,000 bicycles but no cars, with construction scheduled to begin in 2022. Photograph:(Zee News Network)

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The 24-hectare site, located between two canals in the middle of the city, is a business park but by 2024 it will enhance Utrecht’s reputation as a bicycling capital of Europe, making it one of the largest of its type in the world.

The “cyclist-first” city of Utrecht is building Netherlands’ car-free residential district for more than 12,000 people, according to The Guadian.  

The 24-hectare site, located between two canals in the middle of the city, is a business park but by 2024 it will enhance the city's reputation as a bicycling capital of Europe, making it one of the largest of its type in the world.

It is expected to be serviced by 20,000 bicycles but no cars, with construction scheduled to begin in 2022.

The new 24-hectare community will be home to about 12,000 people and will include 2 new primary schools, a high school, and several health centers, together with an assortment of shops and businesses, according to the report.

Bike lanes and tram lines will service the community. Only four 60-meter long “logistical roads” will extend into the neighbourhood from the surrounding area to provide access to delivery vans. 

Electric shuttles will ferry supplies from the logistical roads to individual homes and businesses, the report said.

The idea of walkable, bikeable communities is taking hold in many places around the world. More and more people are beginning to question whether private automobiles are something they need, especially in congested cities where traffic slows the pace of travel to a crawl, parking spaces are at a premium, and the cost of ownership on a per-mile basis is skyrocketing. the report said. 

Perhaps Utrecht will help other world cities re-imagine the future.