Amsterdam West also wants ban on tourist shops, beer bikes

Amsterdam's ban on new tourist stores and beer bikes in Amsterdam city center, is resulting in more and more tourists flocking to Amsterdam West. The district therefore plans to implement similar measures, to keep the area livable for its residents, Het Parool reports. 

Amsterdam West wants to ban new bars and cafes, new tourist shops and beer bikes. 

If the West management committee has its ways, all applications to transform a shop or office in Oud-West into a bar, restaurant, or coffeeshop, will be denied. Oud-West includes Da Costabuurt, Helmersbuurt, Overtoom, Kinkerstraat and surroundings. 

The committee spoke with local residents and business owners to find out how they feel about the situation. These conversations revealed that the living enjoyment in Oud-West is under pressure and that the range of shops is shrking, as the hospitality industry is taking over the retail trade. 

Local residents also said that they notice the crowds increasing - tourists and day-trippers have discovered West. This is particluarly noticeable in the increasing number of beer bikes in the area, now that they've been banned from the city center. Since November, when beer bikes were banned in the city center, the Amsterdam municipality received 128 complaints about beer bikes, 86 of which came from West. 

The West management committee already unsuccessfully pleaded with the municipal authorities to expand the beer bike ban to include West. The district will try again to ban beer bikes based on the complaints received since November.

Another concern for Amsterdam West, is that the tourist stores banned from opening in Amsterdam city center will move to West, creating a monoculture of cheese shops, waffle vendors and tourist businesses. The management committee is therefore also working to ban new stores focused only on tourists and day-trippers. The busy shopping streets will be excluded from this ban, according to the newspaper.