Amsterdam must rev up roads for self-driving cars, says new report

The shape of the Dutch capital needs to change drastically to cope with self-driving vehicles, according to research released to Het Parool.

The report by Boston Consulting Group, commissioned by Amsterdam city council, said without ‘strong’ interventions, the city of 2035 will be clogged-up with self-driving cars.

It predicted that cyclists and pedestrians will simply push in front of them, making them stop, and that they will need special routes. New roads, parking spaces, signs and lights will also be needed.

‘It would cost a stack of money to make all of Amsterdam’s inner city suitable for self-driving vehicles,’ municipal head of transport Pieter Litjens told Het Parool. ‘There isn’t enough room to give a new transport type its own road space.’

But other regions like the area Rotterdam/The Hague are already investigating the impact of self-driving vehicles on city and road design, and infrastructure minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen praised Amsterdam for thinking ahead.