With GroenLinks and Denk on the 30 km/h roads in Amsterdam: “You have to keep your head”

Ernsting submitted a proposal years ago to lower the speed limit in the city. He is satisfied with the adjustments made last night. “It’s nice and slow,” says the councilor while driving an AT5 car on the Slotermeerlaan. “You feel much calmer and have a lot of time to pay attention to that cyclist, for example.”

So Khan thinks very differently about it. “It’s also very good to look at the signs. I had the feeling that I was doing top sport here. Because you have to pay attention every time to see how fast I can drive here.” According to him, this is especially complicated when listening to music. Ernsting thinks that motorists still have to get used to it and also has some advice for Khan: “You have to keep your wits about you.”

The GroenLinkser points out, just like D66 councilor Melanie van der Horst (Traffic), that a speed of 50 kilometers per hour is safer. “There have been a few serious accidents in Nieuw-West involving pedestrians and cyclists crossing the road, where the impact of such a heavy vehicle at 50 kilometers per hour can immediately have fatal consequences.”

Khan acknowledges this, but he believes that the millions that the speed adjustment cost should have been used to tackle dangerous intersections. Moreover, he believes that the roads with separate cycle paths next to them are safe enough for 50 kilometers per hour. The Denk councilor speaks of a false sense of security. “This is a difficult day, I hope people will get used to it. But I think many people are like, was this really necessary?”

Ernsting wants to go further. He would prefer to see the new speed limit also on Wibautstraat and Weesperstraat, where a test with a cut took place this summer. The results of that test will be discussed early next year and it will probably become clear in 2024 what the alderman wants to do with the street.