The Hague to clean-up bicycles from city centre

The Municipality in the Hague is to begin a crackdown on bicycle parking on and around the Grote Markt before the city's main shopping street is redesigned in 2014.

The city will invest some 4 million euros to create 1.250 new bicycle parking spots before the re-design of the Grote Marktstraat begins and will follow this up with two further lock-up spots in the new building projects De Markies and Sijthoff City in 2015.

Any revellers looking to park their bicycle around the Grote Markt for a night out will have it removed and taken to the Biesieklette lock-up, starting this coming April. If the owner does not collect their bike within a few days though the bike will again be relocated to the Bicycle Depot Haaglanden where a 17,50 euros fee will have to paid in order to retrieve it.

This pilot project, which will last a year, follows the expansion of bike-parking facilities at The Hague Central Station, is part of an attempt by the municipality to increase the amount of bike parking stands in the city centre but reduce the number of abandoned bikes left chained to them.