Amsterdam, 8 December 2023 (dpa/MIA) — Amsterdam will become the first city in the Netherlands to implement a 30-kilometre-per-hour speed limit on most of its streets beginning on Friday, in an effort to make the city more safe and quiet.

This speed limit is necessary because of the increasing crowds in the city, said Melanie van der Horst, the city councillor responsible for traffic. "As a result, there are more and more dangerous situations in traffic."

Last year, around 4,800 accidents were reported in which an ambulance was called, while at least 15 people died.

The speed limit will affect 80% of the city's streets, while on some major roads a limit of 50 km/h will be allowed.

An exception also applies to city buses, trams and taxis - but only if there is an extra lane for them.

The number of inhabitants, currently around 800,000, is increasing and at least 20 million tourists visit the Dutch capital every year.

On Thursday evening, 4,500 street signs that were set up around the city beforehand were made official and signs that had been damaged, for example with stickers, were fixed.

Amsterdam wants to prioritize cycling and walking.

Many streets in the city centre have been closed off to car traffic and turned into pedestrian and cycling zones.

There are also more and more so-called fietsstraten, bike lanes where cars are only guests and cyclists have priority.