To make up for forty years of overdue maintenance on the Amsterdamse Bos, an additional seven million euros must be earmarked each year. That write the Amsterdam Aldermen Jakob Wedemeijer of Public Space and Green and Egbert de Vries of Traffic, Water and Air Quality in a letter to the Amsterdam city council.
According to the aldermen, less and less money has been invested in the maintenance of the forest since the 1980s. “As a result, overdue maintenance has risen considerably,” they say and sound the alarm. “Without additional structural resources, the quality level of the greenery, the paths and the bridges will decrease and new backlogs will be built up,” according to the aldermen.
The municipality of Amsterdam started a recovery plan for the forest last November by releasing eight million euros, but that is only temporary enough, the aldermen think. “As a result, the Amsterdamse Bos will remain safe and accessible for its visitors for the time being, the children’s pools can remain open and the consequences of the ash deaths are counteracted.”
But all this would be for naught if we didn’t dig deeper into the stock market. Het Bos itself will generate an extra million euros annually by introducing parking charges and making events more expensive.
in parts
According to the aldermen, the seven million euros does not have to be released immediately next year. They want to use a growth model, in which an amount is added to the forest budget every year. This would be four million euros in the next four years and from 2026 this amount will grow to seven million euros.
The municipality of Amsterdam does not intend to cough up this amount alone. It wants to seek more cooperation with other parties, including the municipality of Amstelveen.