Chaotic traffic in Amsterdam after Weesperstraat closure irritates many, pleases some
There were extensive traffic jams in and around the city center of Amsterdam on Friday. It was the fifth straight day that traffic has backed up since the city tried to reduce traffic into the center with a daytime closure of the Weesperstraat, a portion of the S112 and one of the key through roads in the city.
The road runs from the city center to the Gaasperplas in Amsterdam-Zuidoost, connecting with the A10 ring road, Duivendrecht and Diemen along the way. Traffic guards were helping drivers at the Weesperstraat closure, but few, if any, guards were present along rerouted areas to help keep traffic moving in seriously affected areas. To add insult to injury, maintenance work at Amsterdam Central Station has led to the temporary suspension of trains between there and Amsterdam Amstel through Monday morning. That blocks off another critical way for people to travel between the city center and the southeastern part of the capital.
As a result, traffic has been jammed up frequently along Panamalaan, Kattenburgerstraat, the IJtunnel, Prins Hendrikkade, and parts of Amsterdam-Noord. Just on Friday evening alone, traffic jams have caused an extra 60 minutes of travel time for those riding bus 22, which runs between west and east via Central Station. Anyone wanting to take bus 35, 36, 41, or 43 could also expect a 30 minute delay. A shorter 10-minute delay on bus 34 was also confirmed by the GVB, the city's public transport operator.
“If you're in there, and you have to go to work. How are you ever going to be on time?" said one 85-year-old resident named Kees pointing to a GVB bus stuck on Piet Heinkade. Speaking with Parool, he said the traffic jam has been "ten times worse" than normal, and the air pollution in his neighborhood has also gotten worse. One of his neighbors needed a ride to the hospital for a procedure, and Kees had to take the person on a scooter, because, "It will never work with the car."
The closure of Weesperstraat is a six-week pilot program currently led by Traffic Alderman Melanie van der Horst after the controversial experiment was postponed during the coronavirus pandemic. The city justified pressing ahead with the project claiming that research monitoring license plate numbers showed that over 40 percent of the cars that drive on the heavily-used Weesperstraat would reach their destination just as fast, or faster, by using other routes. Another 40 percent would be delayed by only five minutes.
Opposition parties also sent an urgent letter to Van der Horst calling on her to quickly amend the street closure because special public transport vehicles used to pick up and drop off people with disabilities have also been blocked from reaching their clients. It has especially impacted people using wheelchairs and personal mobility scooters, as well as the elderly, the politicians said.
VVD City Council Member Daan Wijnants was frustrated by the chaos already on the fourth day of traffic. "I can be in favor of a traffic-free city, but a traffic-free city does not mean bullying cars, frustrating cars, or car free," he told AT5 on Thursday.
Traffic rerouting along side streets and Kattenburgerstraat is extremely disconcerting, said DENK party member Eduard Mangal. Entrepreneurs in the city are going crazy because they don't even reach their customers. Taxi drivers can't go anywhere and you also see that emergency services and public transport get stuck at the back of the traffic jam."
GroenLinks has been in favor of the experiment, to prove the benefits of car-free areas, but local party leader Zeeger Ernsting has been accused of whitewashing over the problems this week by only sharing photos of calm, empty streets in the city center. "I'm looking for substantive arguments," he told AT5. "In fact, that's what this entire pilot is intended for: To be able to make a well-founded choice for a definitive situation based on data."
Certainly, residents around Kattenburgerstraat are angry that the coalition of aldermen have shifted traffic into their neighborhoods, making their own situation worse. A little further east, many residents of Amsterdam-Oost were unnerved, too. Those residents had to live with constant traffic jams for most of two years while the Piet Hein Tunnel was closed and cars constantly lined up on Zeeburgerdijk, Veelan and Molukkenstraat as a result.
While many residents, tourists, people and professionals who rely on the roads have been angered, that frustration is not shared by everyone. "Do you hear that?" asked 53-year-old Nikos Numan when speaking with a Parool reporter. "You don't hear anything at all." He added, "This is much better for the city."
“There is always racing, racing, racing here. That is no longer the case. I'm having a great time here," said 77-year-old Annelies Arzbach, who was relaxing in the shade on Jonas Daniël Meijerplein.
"There is really no reason at all to maintain the motorway to the center," said Johannes Fahrenfort, referring to the Weesperstraat. "Close it permanently, turn it into a beautiful park and I promise: in a year we will all be happier," the resident wrote in a letter to Parool.