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The Netherlands

Fun Routes to Transit

6:08 PM EDT on July 22, 2011

"Why I Ride" is on hiatus this week. Instead we bring you the latest transit innovation from the Dutch city of Utrecht -- the "transfer accelerator."

Translation courtesy of The Pop-Up City:

The designers explain that their slide is meant to be a nice gesture to the travellers. They brilliantly foresaw that such a playful urban intervention can generate large-scale positive spin-off for a disadvantaged neighborhood like Overvecht, and that’s exactly what happened.

Frivolous fun, or ingenious solution to the MTA's escalator maintenance woes? (In Utrecht, of course, they don't get 106-degree scorchers like today, so this slide will probably stay usable all year round.)

Ben Fried
Ben Fried started as a Streetsblog reporter in 2008 and led the site as editor-in-chief from 2010 to 2018. He lives in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, with his wife.

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