Amsterdam city center

Amsterdam is banning all boats from sailing on the canals in the city center between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. from mid next year. Private skippers and companies will also not be allowed to sail with more than 12 passengers without a permit. Alderman Sharon Dijksma hopes that these measure will reduce nuisance caused by boat traffic in the inner city, Het Parool reports.

Protesting police officers will "lock down" Amsterdam city center next week Wednesday from 8:00 a.m. until noon as part of their labor actions for a better collective bargaining agreement. During the action, officers will stop people trying to enter the city center and point out banners that read: 'Enter at own risk: No police", AD reports.

The Amsterdam college of mayor and aldermen submitted a proposal to impose a toll on cars in the city center. They believe that making motorists pay to drive through the city center will be an effective measure to reduce traffic in the area, AD reports.

In an ongoing effort to reduce the number of tourists in Amsterdam, the municipality decided that no new tourist shops will be allowed to open in Amsterdam Centrum, the city of Amsterdam announced in a press release on Thursday.

The increasing number of tourists and day visitors in the city center, goes hand-in-hand with an ever increasing number of shops focused only on visitors. The result is that the the store offer in the city center is shrinking, and with it the ease of life for local residents, according to the city.

The municipality of Amsterdam will soon start removing shared bicycles left parked in public spaces, the municipality said in a press statement. Public spaces may not be used as a place of issue and bike sharing companies that do so are hindering city traffic by using up the already scarce bicycle parking, according to the city.