See how Amsterdam built a massive underwater bike-parking facility

The first of two newly built underwater bike-parking facilities is now open to the public in Amsterdam.

And building it was no small task. Workers had to pump water out of the Open Havenfront, right beside Amsterdam’s central transit station.

A timelapse video released by the city shows the four-year construction of the underground facility.

The first underground shed can hold 7,000 bikes, and a second 4,000-space bike-parking facility, also underground, is scheduled to open in February.

The city says it aims to become more pedestrian-friendly by removing the bicycle racks on its streets in the area around Central Station.  

The streets in front of the station have been car-free since 2018.

Amsterdam is known to be one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world, with 400 kilometres of cycle paths around town. More than 60 per cent of its population rides by bike in their daily commute.