EOn 9 January 2018, the Amsterdam City Executive decided to submit the plan for the DokDakpark to the City Council. The plan envisages a park on the roofs of the facilities on the north side of Zuid station (between Beethovenstraat and Parnassusweg). Pedestrian bridges will connect the park in the direction of Beatrixpark and the square next to the courthouse in Parnassusweg.
Not just to look at, but also to use
The idea behind the DokDakpark is to create green space where people can enjoy spending time. The new station design already features a lot of green areas: a green roof above the shops at the station and embankments featuring attractive planting. However, these green areas are not accessible. The plan for the DokDakpark envisages green areas that are not just to look at, but also to use: the green roof and the embankment will become a park that you can stroll through. It effectively enables us to add green public spaces to the centre of Zuidas.
Daklaan
There were already plans for centrally-located usable green areas back in 2015, when the City Council approved a motion calling for the roof of Zuidasdok to be made into a public, green meeting place with international appeal. Part of this ‘Daklaan’ or ‘Roof Avenue’ included an elevated cycle link.
Design not feasible
In the end, the design proposed for the Daklaan turned out not to be feasible. Combining this with the Zuidasdok project threatened to result in unacceptable costs and risks for the City of Amsterdam and delays for Zuidasdok. In the summer of 2017, Deputy Mayor Eric van der Burg informed the City Council that the planned Daklaan design was not feasible. With the support of the City Council, the City Executive called for an updated plan that would be achievable.
New name, same idea
That plan is now in place. In order to prevent confusion with the previous Daklaan proposal, the new proposal is called the DokDakpark. Of course, the DokDakpark will also provide an eco-corridor, a green leisure oasis and a physical link between the eastern and western parts of Zuidas on the north side of Zuid station.
A rethinking of Daklaan
As such, the DokDakpark can be seen as a rethinking of the Daklaan idea. The DokDakpark does not include the cycle link that was previously planned. As a result, the direct access to the station bicycle park originally envisaged is no longer necessary. This significantly reduces the cost of the design. Whereas, back in 2016, the City Council made available the sum of €37.6 million, the City Executive is now asking the City Council for €17.6 million for the DokDakpark.
Better coordination with Zuidasdok project
The DokDakpark is not only significantly cheaper, realising it can also be more effectively coordinated with the Zuidasdok project. The Daklaan idea first came about at the time when the contract for the Zuidasdok project had not yet been awarded and the Zuidasdok design was still unknown. This no longer applies. Because of that, the realisation of the DokDakpark can be coordinated with the realisation and planning of Zuidasdok with much greater precision. This planning coordination is also the reason why the City Executive is already asking the City Council to reach a decision about the DokDakpark now, even though it will not be completed until 2028 at the earliest.
Although the DokDakpark proposal does not include the cycle path, in essence it is the same as the Daklaan concept. The proposal will be on the agenda of the Spatial Planning council committee on 7 February and will be discussed in the City Council on 14 February.
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