Amsterdam gets green light to ban slow scooters from bike paths

After years of debate and consultations, Minister Melanie Schultz wan Haegen of Infrastructure and Environment gave Amsterdam the go ahead to ban all scooters from bike paths, provided it goes with the obligation of wearing a helmet, Het Parool reports.

This applies specifically with what the Dutch calls "snorfietsen" - scooters with a maximum speed of 25 kilometers per hour. Scooters that can drive faster than that are already banned from bicycle paths in the city.

The Minister decided that if these scooter drivers are obliged to wear a helmet, it will be allowable for them to use the road. Amsterdam can determine for itself where to send scooters to the roads in order to deal with the crowds on the city's narrow bike paths, she wrote on Thursday.

amsterdam wants to ban the scooter from bike paths in the entire Ring area and south of the IJ. Whether this measure will be implemented as Amsterdam plans is not clear yet. The Minister wants the road authority to give clear reasons for why scooter drivers are being moved to the road for each place where the ban is implemented. And safety should always be paramount.

Tthe municipality is pleased with this green light, a spokesperson for traffic alderman Pieter Litjens said to the newspaper. "This is what we were striving for. We will no determine the exact loctions where scooters will be removed fromthe bike path." Citizens, businesses and organizations can respond to this decision over the next six weeks.