I had an unexpected stay in Rotterdam, so I nipped down south on the train today to see the Netherlands’ most celebrated cycle roundabout: the Hovenring, a gyratory suspended in mid-air above a main road in Eindhoven.
The hovering interchange is on the Rondje Eindhoven (‘Little Ring’) bike route that loops round the city. Half-bridge, half-roundabout, its cable stays lift it over the clangour of the traffic below and sluice Eindhoven’s busy commuters safely and continuously on their car-free way.
It’s only a couple of miles west of the station. I passed the shiny stadium of PSV to get there, which I was delighted about. Not because I’m particularly a fan of Eredivisie football, but because the pragmatic Dutch have installed a few open-air pissoirs nearby – handy for fans who have necked a few Amstels en route to the match, and for well-hydrated cycle bloggers with dodgy bladders.
The Hovenring just feels like, well, a roundabout, when you cycle it; it’s at its most dramatic in drone footage on those upbeat architectural promo videos. It’s also not unique: Wikipedia notes similar infra in Stavanger, Norway; Shanghai, China; and Rzeszów (bless you!), Poland.
It’s also situated on the way to the suburb of Best. So you can truthfully say, while cycling the Hovenring isn’t quite like flying, it’s the next Best thing.