Children who cycle or walk to school carefree, the elderly who enjoy taking to the streets, people who drive relaxed from A to B: it seems more logical than it is, because many Amsterdammers do not feel safe in traffic. The numbers don't help either. The most important thing we can do is adjust the speed.
In recent years, Amsterdam has done a lot to improve road safety in the busy city. That also helped. Yet in 2020, traffic accidents in Amsterdam still caused about 15 serious injuries a week, and one death every month. The Amsterdam council does not want to accept that, if only because of the human suffering hidden behind those figures. Research shows that many Amsterdammers feel unsafe in traffic. That is why we need to do something that can really improve road safety.
From 50 to 30
Speed plays a major role in the serious accidents on our roads. The higher the speed, the harder the blow. That is why Amsterdam wants to reach a maximum speed of 2023 kilometers per hour in the city by 30, with a limited number of exceptions such as car tunnels. In this way, the number of serious accidents can be reduced by up to 30 percent.
Participation
Amsterdam does not simply carry out the plan to lower the maximum speed and prepare the roads for this. From now on, a consultation period starts. Until October 3, 2021 you can respond to the plan, online or by mail. In the autumn they also organize a number of city discussions about traffic safety in Amsterdam. You can tell in which places and in which situations you feel safe or unsafe in traffic, and you can put forward ideas and wishes for improving road safety. The city council is expected to make a decision on the final proposal by the end of 2021.
Smart roads
The inventors have made the plan to reduce the speed limit together with emergency and emergency services, the GVB, the logistics sector, SMEs and the Fietsersbond. But they want to do more to improve traffic safety in Amsterdam. By designing the roads in a smart way, they can influence the behavior and speed of people in traffic in a good way, for example. Pedestrians and cyclists can also get more space. They make agreements about road safety with various parties, such as the taxi industry. And they continue to tackle the most dangerous places in the city.
Source: Municipality of Amsterdam
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