'Pole plan' experiment to reduce traffic in Amsterdam's Canal Belt halted after 10 days

Bridges on the north and west sides of Amsterdam's Canal Belt were closed with dozens of poles since October 16. This “pole plan,” intended to prevent cut-through traffic in the neighborhood and set to last a year, was halted on Thursday with immediate effect due to complications with emergency services, the municipality reported on Friday.

With this trial, the municipality aimed to reduce inconvenience from car traffic in the Canal Belt West, curb cut-through traffic in the northern part of the Jordaan neighborhood, and also diminish traffic over the vulnerable quay walls in the Canal Belt. The goal was to make the neighborhoods more car-free and create added space for cyclists and pedestrians.

Cars, taxis, and trucks could no longer traverse the Canal Belt West, the northern side of the Jordaan neighborhood, and Haarlemmerbuurt districts from north to south, and vice versa. Although all streets remained open for cars, travel times were extended in many instances.

Emergency services such as the fire brigade, police, and ambulances either had to reroute or manually remove the posts using a key. On the trial's first day, it was reported that firefighters took ten minutes to test the removal of the posts, leading to some frustration. Two days later, a spokesperson for the Amsterdam fire department told NL Times that they had not faced significant issues with the plan so far. However, she did mention that the trial could be halted if it resulted in major complications.

One week later, the municipality announced in a statement that the trial was immediately suspended. The decision was taken after consultation with the emergency services. The municipality pointed out that "the inconvenience was greater than initially expected." The decision was taken after consultation with the emergency services.

According to Het Parool, many in the neighborhood residents reported frequently seeing emergency services halted by the posts since the beginning of the trial. A citizen group even collected photos and videos over the past week and a half to demonstrate to the municipality that the plan was unfeasible in its current form.

The municipality acknowledged in its statement the need for better coordination with emergency services. "In the near future, we will continue our consultations with emergency services to determine how the pole plan can be implemented with suitable measures in a way that is workable for everyone," the municipality stated.