Residents and business owners near Utrechtsestraat are organising their own traffic survey to counter official numbers collected by the City of Amsterdam.
Organizers plan to set up a counting desk outside Café Oosterling at the corner of Frederiksplein and Falckstraat over the next two weeks. Volunteers will record passing vehicles from early in the morning until late at night.
Concerns over one-way streets
The city current figures could determine whether Utrechtsestraat is converted into a one-way street. Local groups argue that shifting to one-way traffic would simply divert congestion onto neighboring canals and bridges between the Amstel and Vijzelgracht.
They also fear the diverted cars and vans would increase traffic near local primary schools.
Neighborhood groups including the Night Mayor organization N8W8, the Amstelveldbuurt group, and Wetering Verbetering are running the initiative with backing from local community center Wijkcentrum d’Oude Stadt.
Previous survey showed opposition
A previous neighborhood survey organized by local groups found that 81 percent of respondents felt the current street setup was safe, while 90 percent opposed turning the street into a one-way route.
Volunteers contend that traffic flows vary significantly depending on the time of day, and that safety issues stem primarily from poor traffic enforcement rather than the street layout itself.
