International Cargo Bike Festival 2018

INTERNATIONAL CARGO BIKE FESTIVAL 2018
Destination City Centre
By Jeroen Berends
The city of Groningen, with a population of 203,000, is by far the largest city in
the north of The Netherlands. A historic trading centre, Groningen’s Hanseatic
roots are still evident from the many historic buildings and warehouses in this
compact, lively city, and today it is a major hub of urban life. Groningen is as
vibrant as ever, much of which can be attributed to a large student population.
The University of Groningen, established in 1614, has 30,000 students whilst
the Hanze University of Applied Sciences has 25,000.
Groningen is also a global leader when
it comes to cycling. 61% of all trips taken
by bike in the city and according to some
measures this is the highest level of
urban cycling in the world. For students in
Groningen, this figure rises to over 70%.
A city for people
Residents, students and visitors from the
region and further afield live, work and
play in the historic heart of the Groningen.
The old city centre is an attractive,
liveable and inclusive destination, and
this desirability has in recent years seen it
become increasingly busy. To retain this
attractiveness and welcoming atmosphere,
some thorough rethinking as well as
reshaping of public space has become
necessary. As the municipality of Groningen
we have therefore taken the decision to
redesign a number of streets and squares.
The objective is to increase pedestrianised
space by 20% over the coming years.
At the same time we will be working to
stimulate the economy, quality living spaces
and leisure activities. The aim is a city for
people, not cars.
Zero Emission City Logistics
The city centre’s significance is projected to
increase further in the future in line with a
growth in demand for goods and services.
For this reason, we are making concerted
efforts to find and implement sustainable
concepts for city logistics. If current policies
remain unchanged, the status quo: growing
numbers of delivery vehicles clogging up
narrow streets, will remain. We know that
this is likely to be at the expense of the
accessibility, quality of life and safety in the
city.
If maximising efficiency whilst minimising
adverse spatial impacts is key, growing
concern over emissions is also a major part
of the story. With that in mind, back in 2014,
54 parties in The Netherlands including
municipalities, logistics companies, car
manufacturers and research institutes
signed the Green Deal for Zero Emission
City Logistics. As one of the signatories, we
in Groningen are committed to achieving as
much emission-free city logistics as possible
by 2025.
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