Amsterdam Will Ban Motor Scooters From Bike Paths in April 2019
Amsterdam prides itself as the bicycle capital of the world — they even outnumber the amount of people -- which explains the city's decision to enact a motor scooter ban in 2019.
Talks of this change have been in the works since July 2018. However, bikers have been taking issue with motorized scooters for years now, with the number of motor scooters growing from 8,000 to 35,000 in Amsterdam over the last nine years. In a 2015 poll, a reported 56% of people in major Dutch cities found scooters "really annoying."
However, the bikers versus motor scooterist conflict also reflects a serious safety concern. Last year, 613 people died in traffic accidents in the Netherlands. Notably, it was also the first time the death toll was highest for bikers with 206 -- with a quarter of those caused by electric bikes and scooters. With these numbers in mind, Amsterdam's mayor and the city alderman held open forums with residents to devise a solution. Nearly 4,700 people participated, which led to the eventual decision to implement a ban for April 8, 2019.
The new policy goes as follows: All motor scooters on the A10 motorway will be barred from the already populous bike lanes. Instead, scooters will operate on the main road, and drives will be required to wear a helmet by law.
As the first municipality in the Netherlands to enact a scooter ban, Amsterdam will be preparing the streets in coming months to accommodate the new rules. This will include, among a large-scale awareness campaign, new road signs and temporary markings to clarify where those on scooters need to be on the road. When the actual ban begins, Amsterdam monitors the dynamics of the road from addressing issues with road congestion, speed, safety, the interaction between cars and scooters and more. Anyone who breaks the new rules will be subject to a 95 euro fine.
