Traffic - Amsterdam reduces speed limit to 30 km/h almost city-wide
From Friday, Amsterdam will have a 30 km/h speed limit on most roads. It is the first city in the Netherlands to reduce the speed limit on such a large scale. The canal metropolis hopes that this will make the city safer and quieter. On Friday night, special teams were to release thousands of previously erected traffic signs.
The speed limit is necessary because of the increasing crowds in the city, said Melanie van der Horst, the alderwoman responsible for traffic. "As a result, there are more and more dangerous situations in traffic." Last year, around 4800 traffic accidents were reported in which an ambulance was called. 15 people died.
Not only is the number of inhabitants increasing - currently there are around 800,000 - but more than 20 million tourists come to the Dutch capital every year.
The new speed limit applies to a good 80 percent of the roads. Only on the major thoroughfares is it still permitted to drive at 50 kilometers per hour. An exception also applies to city buses, streetcars and cabs - but only if there is an extra lane for them.
Amsterdam wants to give priority to cyclists and pedestrians. In the city center, many streets have also been closed to car traffic and turned into pedestrian and bicycle zones. There are also more and more "fietsstraten", bicycle streets where cars are only guests and cyclists have priority.
Information from the city
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- Visitors to Amsterdam should be aware that the speed limit in many parts of the city has been reduced to 30 km/h, as part of an initiative to make the city safer and quieter.
- Despite the reduction in speed limit, some major thoroughfares in Amsterdam still allow for driving at 50 kilometers per hour, with exceptions made for city buses, streetcars, and cabs if an extra lane is available.
- The increase in both population and tourism in Amsterdam has led to an increase in traffic accidents, with around 4800 reported last year and 15 fatalities.
- In an effort to prioritize cyclists and pedestrians, Amsterdam has closed several streets to car traffic and turned them into pedestrian and bicycle zones, as well as creating more "fietsstraten" where cars are considered guests and cyclists have priority.
Source: www.stern.de
