Legal and Policy Framework for Fietsstraten

In the Netherlands, fietsstraten (“bicycle streets”) are not a separate category of road in national law. They operate under the Wegenverkeerswet 1994 (Road Traffic Act) and the Reglement verkeersregels en verkeerstekens 1990 (RVV 1990). These laws give municipalities the authority to install traffic signs, set local speed limits, and redesign streets. The key regulatory tools are the 30 km/h limit and official traffic signage; the well-known red FIETSSTRAAT – AUTO TE GAST sign (Bord L51) is an informatiebord — an informational sign — that signals bicycle priority but does not create new legal rights by itself. In practice, municipalities combine signage, road surface design (red asphalt), and speed-calming features to make the bicycle clearly dominant.

Design standards for fietsstraten are set not by law but by CROW, the Dutch knowledge institute for infrastructure and mobility. Originally established in the 1980s as a semi-public foundation, CROW publishes the manuals that Dutch municipalities and provinces follow. Its Design Manual for Bicycle Traffic (latest edition 2016, available in English) is widely regarded as the global gold standard for cycle planning, and its guidance on fietsstraten (notably the 2018 CROW-Fietsberaad note “Aanbevelingen fietsstraten binnen de kom”) defines what qualifies as a true bicycle street: a red asphalt carriageway, Bord L51 signage, a 30 km/h design speed, and widths proportionate to bicycle and car volumes. Because Dutch courts and auditors often treat CROW norms as best practice, these standards are de facto binding, even if not written into law.

Amsterdam was slower than some Dutch towns to embrace fietsstraten, focusing through the 1990s and 2000s on separated cycle tracks along arterial roads. From the 2010s, the city began converting neighborhood connectors such as Elandsgracht into fietsstraten, following CROW’s guidance with red asphalt, L51 signage, and traffic calming. The real turning point came in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic: with quieter streets and political cover, Amsterdam accelerated the program, converting arterial corridors leading into the canal belt into fietsstraten. These changes coincided with major infrastructure works — rebuilding collapsing canal walls, placing underground waste and recycling containers, and redesigning public space — embedding fietsstraten into a broader vision of sustainable and human-scaled urban life. Today, Amsterdam’s fietsstraten illustrate how CROW’s best practices can be scaled from local side streets to major urban arteries, setting a model watched worldwide.

At the same time, Amsterdam has been undertaking some of the most ambitious infrastructure works in its modern history. Centuries-old canal walls are being rebuilt to prevent collapse, an effort projected to stretch over decades and costing billions. To free up public space, the city is moving car parking underground, especially in the historic center, reducing the dominance of vehicles at street level. And to declutter sidewalks, household trash and recycling are now collected in underground containers rather than set out on the street on “trash days.” Together with the rollout of arterial fietsstraten, these measures signal a comprehensive transformation of the city’s streetscape — shifting from car storage and refuse to space for cycling, walking, and neighborhood life.