Former national politician Sharon Dijksma, 48, gave birth to her third child on Monday morning. Eleonora Windmulder and her mother were both said to be healthy.
Dijksma, now the alderperson for traffic, transit, water and air quality in Amsterdam, declared on Twitter, "Amsterdam has another new resident!" The Labour politician added, "We are proud and grateful for this wonderful gift."
Amsterdam plans to restrict cars in the city even more in order to keep the city accessible and reduce emissions. The Amsterdam office of mayor and aldermen presented a 'Car-less Agenda' with 27 measures to reduce car traffic in the city. The package of measures is mainly focused on investing in public transit and improving bicycle and pedestrian connections, NOS reports.
The municipality of Amsterdam is considering using environmental- and mobile cameras to make sure scooters and mopeds stay off the bike paths. The use of cameras can increase the chance of catching scooter riders ignoring the ban. Since the ban was implemented, 3,500 fines and 360 warnings have been issued for scooter and moped riders caught on bike paths, alderman Sharon Dijksma announced, Het Parool reports.
Taxi companies in Amsterdam are working with the municipality and the Amsterdam region's Discrimination Hotline to take measures to combat discrimination. This was prompted by an incident during Pride Amsterdam last year, when a taxi driver refused to give Pride ambassador Jennifer Hopelezz a ride. With Pride 2019 a month away, the taxi companies signed a declaration of intent for a discrimination-free taxi market, NOS reports.
The city of Amsterdam could open the IJ Tunnel to bicycle traffic on Tuesday as a measure to combat the impact in the capital city of the national public transit strike. The tunnel is normally used as a throughway exclusively for motor vehicle traffic between Amsterdam Noord and Centrum.
The municipality of Amsterdam is investigating whether a partial alcohol ban is possible on the water in the city. That would mean that it will no longer be allowed to drink alcohol on boats in certain parts of the city, RTL Nieuws reports.
A new plan by Amsterdam's city leadership announced on Thursday aims to ban all petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030. The ban is part of the Actieplan Schone Lucht, or Clean Air Action Plan, and covers cars, trucks, mass transit and boats within an expansive emissions-free zone.
Introduced by the city's mayor and aldermen, it will be debated by the full city council from the end of this month, and followed by a six-week period for public comment.
Amsterdam is pushing more money and effort into repairing and maintaining bridges and quays in the city, the maintenance of which was neglected over the past decades, the municipality announced. This follows a report by external researcher Pieter Cloo, who concluded that getting the maintenance of civil construction in the city back on par is a complex, major and extremely urgent task.
Amsterdam traffic and transport alderman Sharon Dijksma is "very concerned" about traffic safety and taxis, she said after a 24-year-old woman died in a collision with an Uber taxi this weekend. "In recent times too many accidents happened where taxis are involved", Dijksma said, Het Parool reports.
Amsterdam will be raising parking rates in the whole city on April 1st. On Wednesday a majority of the Amsterdam city council voted for traffic alderman Sharon Dijksma's plans for the significant rate increase, the Telegraaf reports.
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.
The municipality of Amsterdam is "raising parking fees to improve the quality of life", the city said in a press release on Thursday. From April next year, parking in the city center for an hour will cost 7.50 euros, instead of the current 5 euros per hour. This is the first time parking fees will change in Amsterdam since 2009, according to the city.
The concrete around the tram tracks on the Rozengracht in Amsterdam is in such a poor condition that major repairs need to be done as soon as possible. The road will therefore need to be be closed to tram and car traffic from September 5th to October 1st, alderman Sharon Dijksma of traffic and transport wrote in a letter to the city council, AT5 reports.
The Dutch government decided to make it possible for municipalities to move mopeds off bike paths and onto public roads from July 1st. Amsterdam plans to start working on this immediately and expects to have moped riders, wearing a helmet, on the roads by early next year, the city of Amsterdam announced.
Sharon Dijksma is one of the new proposed aldermen for the PvdA in Amsterdam, the party announced. Should the coalition negotiations end successfully, she will handle the portfolio for traffic and transport, water and air quality, ANP reports.
Dijksma is currently a parliamentarian for the PvdA. In the previous government, she was first State Secretary of Economic Affairs and then State Secretary of Infrastructure and Environment.
GroenLinks, SP and PvdA want to take some power away from pharmaceutical companies. Parliamentarians Corinne Ellemeet of GroenLinks, Nine Kooman of SP and Sharon Dijksma of the PvdA presented a list of over 20 proposals on how to do so, including banning pharmaceuticals from sponsoring patient associations, NOS reports.
State Secretary Sharon Dijksma of Infrastructure and Environment is having the environmental impact assessment (MER) of Schiphol Airport re-examined, she announced in a letter sent to the airport and the Environmental Council, NOS reports. The report was set to be sent to the Environmental Council earlier this week, but that was postponed because the Ministry has questions about the calculations.
People who lived around the Chemcours, formerly DuPont, chemical plant between 1970 and 2012 can go for a free blood test next month. This applies to people who lived in areas contaminated by harmful substances from the factory for at least a year, State Secretary Sharon Dijksma of Infrastructure and environment said to the Tweede Kamer, ANP reports.
The United Nations Global Center of Excellence on Climate Adaption (GCECA) that is opening in the Netherlands, will be based in Rotterdam and Groningen, State Secretary Sharon Dijksma of Infrastructure and Environment announced. The two cities' joint application had the most convincing plan, she said, according to NOS.
State Secretary Sharon Dijksma of Infrastructure gave a remarkable answer to parliamentary questions by a PVV MP about NS' decision to use gender-neutral terms in their announcements.
PVV parliamentarian Roy van Aalst wanted to know hom many people are working on implementing the new gender-neutral form of address of "dear travelers" in NS announcements, according to AD.
State Secretary Sharon Dijksma of Infrastructure and Environment plans to reduce noise pollution on the Veluwe after Lelystad Airport's expansion with a different flight route and by making planes fly at a higher altitude, she told the Tweede Kamer, NU.nl reports.
Dutch parliamentarians were shocked by reports that the number of runway incursions at Schiphol airport is significantly higher than at other airports of similar size. They demand an explanation from responsible State Secretary Sharon Dijksma of Infrastructure and Environment, AD reports.
Schiphol Airport is getting help from various government services as well as citizens this busy summer period, State Secretary Sharon Dijksma of Infrastructure announced on Friday. "We are doing everything to prevent repetition", she said to the Telegraaf, referring to massive crowds, delays and long lines at the airport during the May holidays.
NS employees are striking in Arnhem between 5:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. today. Train traffic may be hindered, not only in Arnhem, but also in the rest of the country. NS advises travelers to keep an eye on their site for delays before leaving for the station. So far all early morning trains left on time, AD reports.
