The VVD in Amsterdam has requested an emergency debate on a traffic experiment which has locals and businesses up in arms as its knock on effects cause access problems and traffic jams.

The Weesperstraat, which runs from the ring road to Waterlooplein, is being closed to traffic from 6 am to 11 pm for a six-week period.

The so-called knip or cut, is part of a trial to monitor the pros and cons of closing off the busy road permanently in 2025 in an effort to cut down on car travel in the capital.

In order to prevent drivers from finding short cuts instead of taking designated detours, other streets have been closed off as well, causing the nearby Kattenburgerstraat to be jam-packed with cars at all hours of the day.

On Thursday bus company GVB decided its number 43 bus could no longer travel on this route.

One frustrated delivery driver banged his way through the barrier on Kattenburgergracht on Thursday while other irate drivers have been hurling abuse at traffic wardens.

A council spokesman said the driver will be prosecuted for circumventing the “knip” and the damage he has done to the barrier.

On Thursday afternoon locals blocked the road and mounted a “noise protest” to express their concerns for their safety and health. “This is getting out of hand,” one local told AT5. “It’s dangerous there are accidents and there’s an almost constant traffic jam.”

City traffic chief Melanie van der Horst, who initiated the experiment and had come to Kattenburg to speak to locals said it was “clear everyone wanted a city without too many cars, including in their street.”

“I understand that,” she said.

“The problems facing people living here, people who need their car because they can’t walk well or it is essential for their job, are extremely irritating. And we are going to see if we can solve the really problematic ones while the trial continues.”