Amsterdam relaxes air quality guidelines; Schools, childcare allowed closer to highways

The municipality of Amsterdam has relaxed its air quality guidelines, allowing the city to build schools, childcare centers, and residential facilities for the elderly closer to highways. Emissions from motorized traffic have decreased significantly in recent years, allowing for this relaxation of the rules, Parool reports.

According to measurements by the municipal health service GGD, emissions from road traffic in Amsterdam have decreased by about half compared to 15 years ago. Due to that decrease in emissions, the city has lowered the guideline stating that no new schools, daycare centers, or nursing homes can be located within 300 meters of a highway to 150 meters. The required minimum distance from busy roads has also been halved from 50 to 25 meters. According to the GGD, the new distances offer the same protection as before.

Traffic alderman Melanie van der Horst is delighted. The city’s population continues to grow, but its available space doesn’t, she said. “This change gives us room for more facilities that we desperately need, such as schools and homes for the elderly,” she said. “All the space we can use is welcome.”

The improvement in air quality is mainly due to stricter legislation for motorized traffic. The city implemented its first environmental zones for trucks in 2008, followed by zones banning vans in 2017 and buses, taxis, and mopeds in 2018. European regulations have also resulted in cleaner vehicles, and electric driving has increased. The GGD expects these developments to continue, improving air quality even further.

The Lung Fund is critical of Amsterdam’s move to relax the air quality guidelines. “The air quality has improved, but we do not meet the health-based recommended values of the World Health Organization,” director Károly Illy said to Parool. “Nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter emissions lead to health damage, even at low levels.” She pointed out that 20 percent of children with asthma developed the lung disease due to air pollution, including from road traffic. “We believe that the health of citizens should be our number one priority.”