Abstract
Noorderplantsoen is a historical park just north of the city center of the City of Groningen, the Netherlands. A main bicycle route runs through this park; it was created by excluding cars from the park in the 1990s. This paper examines how this route was realized in terms of public participation and political parties. The plan to exclude cars from the park had consistently been opposed not only by businesspeople but also by residents around the park. Pressed by the intra-party organization, however, the government party stuck to its election program, which had insisted on excluding cars from the park, and carried through the plan. Therefore, it is concluded that this main bicycle route was realized thanks to liberal democracy.
