B and W comes up with new traffic decision for bus lock in Noorddammerlaan in Bovenkerk

Article taken from Amstelveens Nieuwsblad

AMSTELVEEN The Municipal Executive is drafting a new traffic decision to bar through traffic on Noorddammerlaan. The court in Amsterdam recently overturned on appeal the earlier traffic decision for the bus lock in Bovenkerk . For the new traffic decision, the municipality is having an independent external traffic agency conduct additional traffic research to carefully weigh all possible variants.

In his ruling, the judge indicated that the traffic decision was insufficiently motivated. In doing so, the judge indicated that the bus lock near St. Urbanus Church need not be removed for the next six months. This gives the college time to make a new traffic decision.

"Our main goal is a traffic-safe and livable Bovenkerk," said Alderman Herbert Raat (Traffic). "Our starting point is that we do not want to return to the previous situation where 7,000 vehicles used Noorddammerlaan as a through route every day. This caused traffic unsafe situations. Many children cycle to and from school or the sports club. The bus lock reduced the number of vehicles to 2,000. We therefore choose to draw up a new traffic decision, in which we carefully weigh the various variants for making Noorddammerlaan traffic-free and make them clearly understandable." 

APPEAL BY RESIDENTS

On May 20, the court ruled in the appeal filed by several residents of Bovenkerk against the traffic decision for the current bus lock. The court cited as the main reason for nullifying the traffic decision the insufficient consideration of the interests of the various variants proposed at the time by the college. In particular, the variant for a bus lock on the Legmeerdijk near the Beneluxbaan was insufficiently investigated from a traffic point of view, according to the judge, as a result of which no full consideration of interests could take place. In addition, the judge stated that it is up to the college itself to properly weigh up the interests. A new public support study is not required.

TRAFFIC RESEARCH

The municipality will soon have an independent external agency conduct additional traffic research into the various variants, so that the consequences of each of these variants are clearly understood and a proper weighing up of interests can be made when taking the new traffic decision. 'In this, the general interest for Bovenkerk is paramount,' said the council.