Rotterdam has unveiled plans to build a 2km-long rooftop park along the route of a former railway. The park will run from Gordelweg in Rotterdam-Noord to the Luchtpark in the city centre.
The city is planning to start building the park, which will be the longest rooftop in the Netherlands, from 2025. The park will span the length of the former Hofplein train line.
For almost a century, the Hofplein line was the main rail connection between Rotterdam and The Hague / Scheveningen, and was the first electric train line in the Netherlands before the line to Scheveningen was closed in 1953 and Rotterdam Hofplein station itself shut in 2010.
Residents from the local area helped planners and architects decide how the park is going to look. There will be benches and tables, as well as water areas and a playground for children, and the whole project is set to be complete by 2027.
Council member Vincent Karremans took to Facebook to praise the new project. "We're done with sketching and drawing and are ready to start preparing for the construction of this unique park. It will be a place to walk, stroll, and relax with a newspaper and a cup of coffee, high above the hustle and bustle of the street and amidst the treetops,” he wrote.
The park will focus on bringing biodiversity to Rotterdam and hopes to attract small animals, as well as a wide range of insects and critters. To do so, planners have earmarked a wide range of flowers and plants to plant in the park, as well as having designed a new innovative system to collect water and irrigate the park properly so that flora and fauna can thrive.