Amsterdam: Are cyclists’ complaints taken seriously

Cyclists’ organisation Fietsersbond has a website where you can report dangerous bollards, traffic lights that take ages to turn green, a shortage of bicycle racks, etcetera. A group of volunteers frequently check the status quo. For the good news click here: across the entire city, there are locations where the situation for cyclists appears to have improved.

Can we conclude that cyclists’ complaints are taken seriously? Not quite. Many reports are ignored and as a result, cyclists are being hindered or even put in danger. Some of these reports are about problems that can easily be solved, for example by adding a bike rack. In other cases, there are complicated tradeoffs, and the interests of cyclists are subordinated to the flow of cars and public transport. In any case, city and districts might put the bicycle a bit higher on their list of priorities.