Loket Knooppunten asked BURA (formerly known as marco.broekman) for a spatial study on the improvement of the station area of Station Almere Centrum. BURA (formerly known as marco.broekman) worked on a development strategy, in close partnership with a large amount of different stakeholders (NS, ProRail, property owners, municipality). Goal of the study was to define a number of no-regret interventions which can be implemented on short term and middle long term.

Train station Almere Centrum and its direct surroundings don't meet the contemporary standards any more. There is a lack of quality in public space, unclear pedestrian routes, back sides, social security problems and vacant real estate. The station itself, dating from the 1980s, still functions well as a public transport transfer machine. However, spatially it rather forms a barrier than a link between Almere's central shopping area and the business district. The substantial size of the bus station and the low height underneath the rail viaduct are important factors in this context.

Through interviews and participative workshops BURA (formerly known as marco.broekman) developed a clear diagnose of the station area, resulting in a variety of scenario’s, which differ in ambition and costs. Visualizations show, that through strategic interventions, spatial improvements can be realized in terms of routing, orientation and public space. Additionally, a future-proof and phased transformation is investigated taking into account the upcoming Floriade in 2022 as well as the planned IJmeer rail connection. The study is used to set up a Value Engineering project with all stakeholders in the autumn of 2016, which needs to define the joined ambition.