Where in Zuidas
Currently the area between PI59 and the lawyers’ office Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is home to a simple footpath. But the development of PI59 means that the roof of the car park will also become useful space. We want to use it to create something attractive. We have asked local residents for help with this, as we did previously when landscaping a pocket park in Rosy Wertheimstraat. This time, in two rounds of consultation in late March and early May 2023, more than 800 people gave their views by ‘swiping’ on a special website. The results of these two rounds of voting were already discussed at a walk-in meeting in the Thomaskerk church on 3 July. We include a reminder of these results below.
Greenery, Sport and Play
In the first round, the three themes of Greenery, Sport and Play were by far the favourites among participants. In the second round, we developed these further by presenting participants with a series of dilemmas within each of the three themes. Within the Greenery theme, a combination of flowers and colourful greenery proved to be the most popular. In the Sport category, outdoor fitness facilities were preferred and a boules court was rated highest when it came to Play. Outdoor workspaces, skating and football achieved significantly lower scores.
Draft design and follow-up
The designers have taken the results of the consultations and created a layout plan. At this stage, the main priority has been to identify which particular preferences will fit in the available space and how to make the best use of the street and parking deck. Based on this, we now have an initial idea of what the space will look like. This layout plan will in turn form the basis for a follow-up process. As part of that, we will carefully reassess the spatial plan and also make choices with regard to the types of plants and materials to be used. Of course, we will also take account of costs and management.
Football pitch
The results of the two rounds of questions made it quite clear what participants’ preferences are. Despite this, large numbers of people who attended the walk-in meeting on 3 July were keen to see a football pitch, basketball court or hockey field. Although the swiping votes actually provided no basis for this, we are still taking this signal seriously. We are therefore working closely with Amsterdam Zuid city district to explore the option of meeting this request for a sports field elsewhere in the neighbourhood.
A new use and look for the pedestrian shortcut between Freshfields and PI59 is now a step closer. We expect to have made even further progress on the design by the end of this year. We will keep you informed of developments.
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