City Council approves pilot for cycle street on the Groene Loper

The motion was submitted by GroenLinks, with support from SAB, Volt, 50Plus, PvdD, SPM, D66, PvdA, and PVM, and was adopted with 27 votes in favour and 6 against. The Groene Loper Interest Group sent a letter to the city council supporting the motion. A key part of the motion is consulting the local community, continuing the current participation process that includes the Meedenkgroep (advisory group).

The cycle street pilot ties in with the ongoing set of physical road safety improvements and the behavioural campaign Samen stapvoets op het Flaneerpad (Strolling Together), all aimed at improving traffic safety on the Groene Loper.

This approach began with the 2021 council decision to introduce a 30 km/h zone, implement additional physical traffic measures, and launch a communication strategy to encourage safer behaviour.

What we know so far about the pilot:

• Before the pilot starts, a participation process will be held with local residents. The pilot will only proceed once they have given their approval.
• The roadways on both sides of the Groene Loper will become a cycle street, where cars are guests. The speed limit will be 30 km/h. The exact design of the street is still under investigation.
• Pedestrians and slow cyclists will continue to share the Flaneerpad in the centre strip. The council and aldermen want to accommodate vulnerable cyclists (such as young children and the elderly) who prefer to ride slowly on the Flaneerpad rather than on the main road. This was also a point raised by the Meedenkgroep involved in the Flaneer campaign.
• The cycle street pilot will run for approximately 1 year, during which residents will be asked about their experiences.
• The pilot will start after physical road safety measures are implemented, between September and November 2025.
• These physical measures include raised intersections, zebra crossings, and red asphalt at selected locations to guide faster cyclists toward the roadway.

Timeline: improving traffic safety on the Groene Loper

• April 2025: Central strip designated as Flaneerpad – “Samen stapvoets / Strolling together”
• July/August 2025: Interim survey among pedestrians, cyclists and drivers about the Flaneerpad and upcoming cycle street
• Sept–Nov 2025: Implementation of physical road safety measures
• 2026: User experience survey among pedestrians, cyclists and drivers (previous survey was held in 2024)
• 2026: Traffic counts of cyclists and motorists, speed measurements of motor traffic (previous counts in 2023 and 2024)
• 2027: Evaluation of the cycle street pilot and review of the use of the central strip by pedestrians and slow cyclists
• 2028: Replacement of GraviLyn (semi-paved surface) in the central strip