Enschede first Dutch city to approve ban on fatbikes, despite alderman's reservations
Enschede is the first Dutch municipality to greenlight a ban on fatbikes in the city center. A majority in the city council voted for a ban on Tuesday, despite warnings by alderman Marc Teutelink that it may not be feasible, NOS reports.
“A standard ban on fatbikes isn’t just possible. We’re going to see if we can come up with a trick. That’s how I want to interpret the motion,” Teutelink said before the vote.
The motion was submitted by the VVD, Volt, Burgerbelangen Enschede, and CDA. According to VVD faction leader Rachel Denneboom, the ban is absolutely necessary. “A fatbike is a scooter disguised as a bicycle,” she said. “We’ll ban fatbikes in the city center just like we did scooters.”
The parties proposed banning fatbikes in the city center by amending the general municipal bylaws (APV), a local overview of local regulations on public order and safety. The alderman will look into whether he can manage this with a trick, he said.
Robin Wessels of GroenLinks accused the city council of “raising expectations we can never meet” with this unfeasible plan. “This is perhaps the most absurd debate I’ve witnessed in all the years I’ve been here,” Wessels said. “This is simply pre-school level.”
Piet van Ek of the Van Ek/Woltjer Groep called it “a completely nonsensical motion, purely for show.”
Enschede has banned a range of vehicles in its city center. Scooters, mopeds, and speed pedelecs have been banned since September 2020. Cars and trucks are also unwelcome without an exemption, except for loading and unloading.
