The complete closure of the southern section of the A10 towards Hengelo/Utrecht will inevitably lead to some inconvenience for motorists. It could add up to an hour to their journeys. Evert-Jan Tak, leasing manager for CBRE IM (the company that manages the World Trade Centre) comes to work by car. ‘Usually if there’s a problem for two or three days, I switch to working from home. But this is going to last for longer, so I’m looking for other solutions.’ He sees the alternative routes via the A5 and A9 as good options. He can also make use of personal travel advice from Ask&GO.
Narrowcasting
CBRE IM will be communicating about the work using narrowcasting on the various displays around the WTC, such as near the lifts. ‘As a landlord, we get all the latest updates about the work and we will be sharing them with our tenants’, Tak explains. Frans Kooijman, a manager for an online booking office for business airlines and hotel tickets, drives to work in Zuidas every day by car from his home near the coast. ‘I drive past Schiphol, which is often congested, and then I rely on my navigation system to take me on an alternative route.’ But he is happy that he’ll also be able to use the Ask&GO service. ‘That includes other travel options such as public transport. I think that’s a great extra service.’
Local businesses
For some businesses, it’s going to be wait and see. ‘Our customers come here from everywhere’, says Dirk van Weerdenburg, the owner of a caravan company in Sloten. And sometimes it seems that information campaigns can have the wrong effect: ‘People are seeing and hearing everywhere that things are going to be busy around Amsterdam. Customers with a long way to travel will think twice before coming down this way at all.’ Traffic on the A4 towards Schiphol will be diverted from the Badhoevedorp junction via the A5 and A9 to prevent roads on the western side of Amsterdam from getting blocked. That will be hard for Van Weerdenburg, because his company is located right between that junction and the A10 South. ‘I asked the municipality if there was some other way. They were very friendly but the answer was no.’
Taking the train to Zuidas
Amber de Munck works for an IT service provider in Zuidas and takes the train in from Almere every day. It’s very comfortable – there’s a direct connection between Almere and Amsterdam Zuid station. ‘I knew that this work was coming up. As an office manager, I’ve seen all the communication from the council about this.’ That information is shared with colleagues on the internal MS Teams channel and placed in the central digital agenda. ‘That is really important for colleagues who drive lease cars’, says De Munck. And although there will be some timetable changes due to the closure of 2 of the 4 train platforms, she is not too worried for the time being. ‘I also rely on the information provided by the NS, for example.’
By metro, bus or bicycle to Zuidas
For people who come to Zuidas by metro or bus, there will be less disruption, or none at all. Metro 52 (the North/South line) will terminate and start from Europaplein station instead of Amsterdam Zuid between 16 July and 23 July. Metro lines 50 and 51 will continue to operate normally, as will the bus lines. But people who cycle to work will be the happiest of all. Birgit Heliczer, commercial manager of CBRE IM, is one of them. ‘I live in Amsterdam and I don’t think much will change for me.’ She’s right about that. The underground bicycle parking facilities Zuidplein, Strawinskylaan and Mahlerplein will be open as usual.
Travel advice
- Work at home or stay at home if you can
- Cycle to Zuidas or come by public transport
- Check askandgo.nl for personal travel advice
- Check 9292.nl, the NS journey planner, Waze or Google Maps
Ask&Go
- Scan the QR-code or go to www.askandgo.nl
- Start a Whatsapp chat with Ask&Go Zuidasdok (085-0659091)
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