New
Amsterdam Bike Slam
Taking a note from
the message Amsterdam
is pedalling, New
York looks to reinvent
itself as a bicycle-friendly
city, beginning with
the New Amsterdam
Bike Slam, over 10-13
September, as part
of the Amsterdam/New
York celebrations
of NY400. The slam
is a competition,
showcasing the talents
of Dutch/American
city planners and
designers pitting
two teams against
each other to create
lower Manhattan and
New York Harbour
District that is
bicycle-friendly.
Cycle-crazy
New
York cycle-couriers
are a crazy breed,
pedalling through
dangerously heavy
traffic that isn’t
looking out for
them, taking shortcuts
that cars can’t
and when a gridlock
forms those pesky
cyclists just ride
on through… Ever
stop to think that
maybe they were
on to something.
Imagine a New York
where cyclists
outnumbered cars,
traffic ran smoothly
and thanks to pedal-power,
emissions were
far less.
New Amsterdam,
New Amsterdam
As part of the NY400 celebrations
between Amsterdam
and New York, the New
Amsterdam Bike
Slam, inspired
by poetry slams,
hip hop battles,
reality TV and
good ol’ fashion
know-how pits two
teams comprising
of both Dutch and
American planners
and designers in
a competition to
redesign New York
City’s transportation
woes.
Brains travel
on bikes
After
three days of
intensive planning
and preparation,
on Saturday 12
September, the
two higly skilled
teams went head-to-head
in a battle royale
that comprised
urban planning,
marketing, design
and social & eco-awareness.
Live on stage as
part debate, part
performance, in
front of a panel
of judges they
pedalled their
plan for a compelling
new vision to increase
bicycling in lower
Manhattan and the
New York Harbor
District.
The
team with the most
practical and innovative
plan to send New
York down the right
path as a bike-friendly
city was rightfully
rewarded by Mr
Job Cohen, Mayor
of Amsterdam with
the winning team
scoring free Dutch
bicycles courtesy
of Workcycles.
Developments in
public transport
Anyone visiting
Amsterdam for the
first time will
be amazed by the
many building sites
in the city centre.
But things are
not as drastic
as they may seem,
because in actual
fact, the work
involves only one,
very large building
site. The construction
of the new Noord/Zuidlijn
(North/South metro
line), which will
improve transport
links between the
north and south
of Amsterdam, means
that large parts
of the city centre
are less readily
accessible. The
digging work was
started in several
places at the same
time, so that things
would proceed more
quickly.
The metro
Amsterdam’s
metro network is
recent. The first
metro lines were
only laid in 1977.
Most of those lines
led to residential
areas outside the
centre, so there
remained a need
for a metro line
that would pass
under the city
centre. That was
a problem, because
Amsterdam was built
on swampy ground.
Every building
in the city centre
is supported by
wooden posts driven
deep into the ground.
A metro network
would have to be
tunnelled under
those posts. That
was - initially – considered
technically and
financially unfeasible.
The Noord/Zuidlijn
In the end, the
decision was taken
to construct the
Noord/Zuidlijn – a
metro line running
from the northern
part of Amsterdam
under the river
IJ to Central Station.
From there it will
continue to Dam
square, and then
via Rokin on to
Station Zuid/WTC.
The actual construction
work began in 2003.
It was expected
that the 9.2km-long
line would be completed
by 2011. That proved
to be unfeasible.
The next date quoted
was 2013, but that
has meanwhile been
postponed, too.
It is now hoped
that everything
will be finished
by 2015.
Further plans
More building
work is scheduled
up to 2020. One
plan is for the
Noord/Zuidlijn
to continue from
Station Zuid/WTC
to Schiphol airport.
Another involves
a link between
Central Station
and Isolatorweg
(the terminal of
line 50). This
would result in
a ring line around
the city. Another
aim is to finally
reorganise the
metro network.
At present, three
of the four metro
lines depart from
Central Station,
with the primary
disadvantage that
delays on one metro
line have consequences
for the other subsequent
lines. This problem
could be solved
by reorganising
the network so
that the metro
lines depart from
different stations.
