Utrechtsestraat will not become one-way after all

Utrechtsestraat will keep its two-way traffic.

The city has dropped its plan to make the street one-way, and in a letter to people living nearby it says it will now look at several smaller measures to make the street safer.

The one-way plan was made public at the start of this year.

According to the city, Utrechtsestraat carries too much traffic and the situation on the street is too dangerous.

The city says views in the neighbourhood about the street’s future are divided, and that there is also strong support for further measures.

Residents opposed the plan

Several groups of residents fought the proposal.

They were worried that making the street one-way would push more traffic into the surrounding streets.

The city had already commissioned a study of the traffic situation, but residents argued that it had not properly considered what one-way traffic would lead to, or what the alternatives were.

Residents also questioned the city’s count of more than 4,200 vehicles a day.

They were convinced the real number was lower and carried out their own counts. Now the one-way plan has been shelved altogether.

Alternatives go to the district council

On Tuesday 6 October the district council will discuss the alternatives residents have put forward instead of one-way traffic.

These include an extra zebra crossing, targeted enforcement of loading and unloading, and speed bumps.

To follow how the district council and the city make decisions like this, check out our guide to local politics in Amsterdam.

Source: AT5