Amsterdam residents face parking crisis as 147 spaces removed, fees soar

Residents in Amsterdam’s Rivierenbuurt are facing tighter parking conditions as the city removes 147 spaces to create green zones, wider sidewalks, and water management areas. The changes come amid rapidly rising parking fees and the elimination of inexpensive parking near athletic fields and former free-parking zones.

Harm Rouwendaal, 60, a local resident and self-described average Joe, said the city favors electric vehicles and discourages conventional car ownership. “The municipality thinks: we are green, cars must leave the city,” he told De Telegraaf. “This is just harassing drivers. Only with an electric car do you get a permit faster.”

Rouwendaal measured streets in the neighborhood and found space for additional parking. “Vechtstraat is almost eight meters wide. You could park on both sides. But a few streets away, the city says it’s not possible because of trees. That’s not a technical issue—it’s a lack of willingness.”

Currently, roughly 332 spots serve 2,000 households—about one per six households. Evening parking is difficult, sometimes forcing residents to park near the Mirandabad swimming complex. The redesign also expanded bicycle and pedestrian areas.

Rouwendaal criticized the policy as favoring wealthier residents with electric cars. “Those without money for an electric car face months on the waiting list. And even if you have a permit, you’re not guaranteed a spot. You pay hundreds of euros a year without certainty.”

District official Rocco Piers said the redesign considered adding more parking but found insufficient space. “Adding more spots would compromise other facilities, like bicycle parking and sidewalk accessibility,” he told De Telegraaf.

He noted that the neighborhood is prone to flooding, calling it the “bathtub of the city,” and that depressed green zones, or wadi's, are needed to temporarily hold heavy rainfall.

“Greenery is necessary to protect the neighborhood from heat and extreme precipitation. The design aimed to preserve as many parking spaces as possible,” Piers said. He added that stricter permit rules for new residents will gradually reduce parking demand.