Paris, France
2021 - 2024
Paris has introduced a state-of-the-art bicycle parking facility at Gare du Nord, accommodating up to 1,200 bicycles. With direct access from the cycling network, integrated wayfinding with real-time indication of available spaces and a personal welcome at the entrance, it draws inspiration from facilities at Amsterdam and Utrecht Central station. The new parking at Gard du Nord provides a solution for short and long-distance travelers, as well as local residents.
The design incorporates key elements familiar from Dutch bike parking facilities, including two-tiered racks, a guarded entrance, and repair stations. The facility is strategically positioned for easy access by bike from the bidirectional cycling route and offers a direct route to the station. This project fits into the larger project of transforming Paris into a more bike and pedestrian friendly city ahead of the Olympics and beyond.
Movares was a natural choice of partner when this project came to life. Their work, covering stations with 120 to 12.000 bike parking spots, includes some of the most impressive in the Netherlands. We sat down with Simone Jorink and Aimee Baars from Movares to learn more about the story of this project and what it involved.
Aimee: At Movares, I work as a designer, primarily focusing on urban design projects, though my background is in architecture. Over time, I transitioned towards landscape architecture and urbanism, which naturally includes cycling infrastructure—a key area of expertise in the Netherlands.
I also really enjoy international projects. I think it doesn’t really happen that often that you get to work with people in France and within the context of Paris. A city I really enjoy visiting myself. When I heard about this opportunity, I was instantly excited to be part of it.
Simone: My background is in building technology, with a strong interest in human behavior, which naturally led me to specialize in consulting on bike parking over the past years.
At Movares, we’ve designed numerous bike parking facilities for Dutch train stations, ranging from indoor facilities to outdoor spaces with small roofs that account for two-thirds of the total parking capacity at stations. The demand for high-quality indoor facilities continues to grow as the numbers of cyclists using the bike-train combination is still growing and the value of the bike itself is rising. We love to work on these complex puzzles in areas where space is limited and the location of the bike parking itself is key for its success.
In May 2021, there was a call on the DCE platform from Inddigo, which is a consultancy firm based in Paris. They thought it would be a good idea to implement Dutch knowledge in the study they were about to start on bicycle parking for 19 stations in the Île-de-France region on behalf of Île-de-France Mobilités. After an online introduction we were very excited to be selected. This project in Paris is our first bike parking project abroad. The project has been a true inspiration for us as we’ve seen the city evolve over the past few years becoming a more cycling friendly city. We visited the city every half a year and were amazed by the fast transition.
It was incredibly valuable. The biggest part was that we invited not only Inddigo and Île-de-France Mobilités, but also other key stakeholders in the project, including RATP, SNCF and the City of Paris. It was really useful for them to spend a few days together, also to get to know each other in a more informal, personal way, and experiencing the examples as a group.
It was eye-opening for them to see how seamlessly bike parking is integrated into complex station areas, making it an essential part of the train journey, since half of the travelers arrive by bike. The group happily cycled through the Stationspleinstalling and were impressed by the scale of it.
We’ve also made clear that the situation wasn’t always like this. To provide context, we shared before-and-after photos of some of the stations we visited, illustrating the transformations these areas have undergone. Even we sometimes forget how quickly these spaces have evolved—remember ‘the sea of bikes’ around Utrecht Central station?! It wasn’t that long ago.
The tour also highlighted the importance of financial planning and operational aspects, which is often overlooked when focusing solely on spatial design. By highlighting our discussions on these topics throughout the project, we helped them see that the final product is the result of years of collaboration and effort by many involved parties.
Our partner Inddigo had already worked on the subject before and Île-de-France Mobilités is active in a wide range of cycling projects as a financer. As a financer, it is sometimes difficult to be heard as they are not the project owner. Working together with us gave them the opportunity to advise on solutions that were already implemented and working. This was an impulse for the project. It gave them power to negotiate and convince. A project at the scale of Gare du Nord was totally new for them. We didn’t design the architecture, that is the great work of AREP. We did have a lot of influence on the set-up of the parking itself. How you arrive at the entrance, ideas on the check-in check-out system and the placement of the racks and different types of bikes.
It is important to think about the local context. The train stations in the Netherlands are different than, of course, metro stations in Paris. Our train network is dense and cycling from and to the station expands your reach enormously. For some of the metro stations in Paris it is not that logical to cycle to these stations. You’ll probably cycle all the way to your destination in stead of combining your journey with a metro trip.
At first, we thought we could handle a part of the investigative work, such as mapping traveler routes, station entrances, and exits. However, it quickly became clear that Inddigo’s local expertise was crucial. We were impressed with the depth of their analysis.
Working in a different context—especially abroad—offered us fresh insights into their methods and tools, some of which we don’t typically use.
The approach within Paris towards bike parking is to also make it aesthetically pleasing. In the Netherlands, our approach is more focused on practicality during the start of the project. We prioritize the location, safety, vandalism resistance, and ease of use. In Paris they are quite strict in regard to adding new layers to historical heritage. Some of the larger stations like Gare du Nord, Gare de l’Est and Gare de Lyon are older, monumental buildings. Implementing bike parking in these contexts often demands an aesthetic view. The bike parking sites we visited were visually appealing, but sometimes fell short on functionality. Over time, neglect set in—glass walls were broken, wood paneling was vandalized, and cleanliness suffered.
We experience it more and more in the Netherlands as well, but theft is really an issue in a lot of countries. The system we have in the Netherlands where you check in and check out with your public transport card, is a system they didn’t agree on, for them that didn’t feel safe enough. We’re very interested in how this facility will work because we are used to the first 24 hours for free and they are now trying another concept.
The exchange between these different perspectives was incredibly valuable. It should be secure, durable, and functional, while also being visually appealing and inviting for users. Gare du Nord offers both and functions as an important landmark showing cyclists they are welcome to arrive by bike. We are incredibly proud to have contributed to this project and pleased with the knowledge we’ve gained by working together.
Full interview with Movares.