[By Wim Pijbes] – The Rijksmuseum Passage has not been used for almost ten years. As a result, many people have trouble visualizing the new situation. The Rijksmuseum frequently receives questions from Amsterdammers who were familiar with the old passage and cannot yet form an idea of the future Passage. The Zuid District Administration has approved the decision to reserve the Passage for pedestrians (and street musicians) and to direct cyclists around the building. This choice is supported by various institutions and persons, including the ANWB. Five reasons explain why:

1. New entrances

The Nieuw-West district has published the accounts of the council’s expenses over 2011. No shocking amounts, but it’s interesting to see how parties spend their budgets. The item ‘meetings’ (bijeenkomsten) includes coaching for a party meeting (CDA), teambuilding (GroenLinks) and a weekend away with the party’s council members (PvdA). D66 spends a large share of its budget on an assistant, the VVD relatively much on meals and drinks. Almost all parties spend a significant amount on flowers, wreaths and ribbons for the remembrance of the war victims on 4 May.

According to an analysis by cyclists’ organisation Fietsersbond, there are errors in a report used by the Zuid district to underpin a decision to close the Rijksmuseum passage for cyclists. According to the study, a bicycle ban will cause a slight improvement in traffic safety, but the Fietsersbond finds that the risk of accidents will rise.