Monday, May 3, 2010

Amsterdam next 4 years: Wider bicycle paths, fewer cars

The new city administration wants Amsterdam to remain the World's number 1 bicycle city by far. The area within the A10 ring road will have reduced car traffic and there will be more bicycle stands, waiting time indicators and green waves for cyclists. In addition, a ‘moped policy’ will be developed. These measures have been announced in the coalition agreement presented last week by PvdA, GroenLinks and VVD.  On behalf of GroenLinks, Velo Mondial's friend and council member Fjodor Molenaar participated in the negotiations on issues including traffic. Last year, he submitted a policy paper 'Cyclist King', which argues among other things for a moped policy and for ‘bicycle streets’ where cars are guests. At the time, the former City Council responded positively to his proposals. “In part, the bicycle plans of the new administration are a confirmation of the former administration’s response to 'Cyclist King'. The idea that Amsterdam should remain Cycling City Number 1 and the ambition to create more spacious bicycle paths are the most obvious elements that have been included in the agreement. Also, the notion that the inner city area will be expanded to the area within the A10 and that there should be structurally more room for slow traffic in that area, has survived.” “ I expect that bicycle streets will be created in various districts the coming years.” Read more in News from Amsterdam.