The municipality of Amstelveen does not always have a clear picture of ‘dangerous’ traffic situations. According to Fietsersbond Amstelveen, this is because (near) accidents and negative experiences of cyclists are not registered. That is why the union is now arguing for a central reporting point.
Fietsersbond Amstelveen wants a central reporting point for accidents – NH News
Because the police are not always called and an accident is often only registered if the victim has suffered serious injuries, the figures that the police send to the municipality are incomplete. “It is that we come up with points for improvement,” says Cor Roof of the Cyclists’ Union Amstelveen against NH. “But we don’t always see everything.”
To test whether Amstelveners are waiting for such a hotline, the union joined the hotline of the Amsterdam department in April. In three months time, forty reports were received about roundabouts, intersections and cycle paths where things often go wrong. “We were quite shocked by that.” The Amstelveen department of the Fietsersbond therefore thinks it is high time for its own hotline.
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Amstelvener Mark Meijer, among others, made a report. He is concerned about the new roundabouts that have been built on the Beneluxbaan together with the underground tram line.
“Several times I have experienced a near-collision at one of the roundabouts,” says Mark.
He suspects that this is mainly due to the many objects around the roundabouts that make the situation confusing. There are low fences and glass panels. “They are regularly fogged up, making it impossible to see if a car is arriving.” The municipality has already removed a number of panels in the past to make the situation clearer, but according to Mark that is not yet enough.
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Amstelvener Toon van den Boer has also made a report. For years he has been sounding the alarm with the municipality about the narrow Kazernepad from Amstelveen-Zuid to Amsterdam. His girlfriend crashed hard when she collided with an oncoming car. “Almost a year later, she is still completely disabled and without income,” says Toon.
But it’s not the only accident he’s seen happen. “Recently a man flipped over here when he collided with two children. Another accident happened within five minutes.”
“A hotline is only useful if the municipality actually does something with the complaints”
Toon hopes that the Amstelveen hotline will be set up, but emphasizes that it only makes sense ‘if the municipality actually does something with it’. He has little faith in that, because the Kazernepad has still not been widened either.
Alderman for Transport Herbert Raat previously told NH that the Kazernepad as part of the Sportas route, which also runs through Amsterdam, will be widened after 2025. Now he says that the municipality is looking into whether it can be done sooner.
Behavioral campaign
Raat also thinks it is important to get a better picture of traffic bottlenecks and has therefore recently cycled with school children on a number of occasions. A number of adjustments are now being made to those routes. He welcomes a hotline for Amstelveen, but the municipality also wants to roll out a behavioral campaign.
“You can adjust everything in terms of design, but if people don’t pay attention, you will still have an accident.” According to Raat, many accidents are caused by people who are not paying attention. Fast e-bikes also play a role. In September, the Fietsersbond will meet with the municipality to discuss the forty reports and options for a hotline.