Criticism of Amsterdam's plan to enforce 12 passenger limit on canal boats on King's Day
Late last year, Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema announced that the city would actively enforce its 12+1 limit on boats this King’s Day, scrapping the exemption the holiday had held for years. Critics worry that the city is sucking all of the joy out of the King’s Day celebrations. Amsterdam is famous for its boat parties on King’s Day. Others worry that the crowding problem on the city center canals will just move elsewhere, Parool reports.
The 12+1 limit means that no more than 12 people and a skipper are allowed on a boat in the Amsterdam city center. The measure does not apply to main waterways like the Amstel and Nieuwe Herengracht. There are also about 550 vessels with an operating license allowing them to take more people. So boat parties on King’s Day will still be possible.
Vincent Horbach, skipper and owner of Rederij Prinsengracht, will sail through the city center on King’s Day with a full boat as usual. But he calls it a pity that the city decided to scrap the exemption for the King’s Day festivities. “King’s Day has always been a phenomenon of this city,” he told Parool. “The question is whether these rules aren’t pulling the plug on the festivities.”
Rob ten Heggeler of Rederij Nassau is concerned about congestion on the main waterways due to the limit on the canals. He’s heard from many private boat owners that they are simply moving their parties to the Amstel, he told the newspaper. “Especially around Carré and Stopera, I think it will really become a mess.”
A 25-year-old student who will be celebrating on the Amstel with his boat, which can hold about 50 people, also doubts that the 12+1 rule will lead to less chaos on King’s Day. “On paper, it is a solution, but in practice, you are just shifting the problem to the Amstel,” he said.
Justin van de Pas, a lecturer in logistics and crowd dynamics at Breda University, is not too concerned about shifting the problem. “If people move from the smaller canals to a route with more capacity, you are simply moving the problem to a place where you probably can control it better.”
The municipality told Parool that it will deploy enough enforcers to enforce the 12+1 rule and is working on various traffic measures in case bottlenecks arise on the main waterways, including entry bans and one-way traffic.
