‘I don’t know how I can keep this up any longer’
A number of residents of Java Island have to surrender a parking permit: they must, at much higher costs, take measures from the indoor garage of their residential complex. ‘That costs 1000 euros more.’
They had had a residents’ permit for Java Island for twenty years. So as long as she lived there, Karen Versteege parked on the street, in front of the door, sometimes a few doors away. But that came to an end when a space became available in the indoor parking garage under the apartment complex where she lives. “So my resident permit was revoked and I had to pay 1000 euros more per year for a parking space.”
Versteege is one of the sixteen residents of Java Island whose residents’ permit has been revoked. With major financial consequences: a permit for parking on the street 284 per year, for a parking space 1260 euros per year must be paid, says Tom Spel of the Tenants’ Association Java. “That amount can be adjusted annually by the percentage plus 5 percent. In five years, the amount could have risen to 2000 euros.”
Can’t afford anymore
Versteege is stunned, she says. She works in education and living on Java Island is becoming more and more unaffordable for her. “Energy prices are skyrocketing, I can barely afford the ever-increasing rent. When such a huge amount comes there, I don’t know how I can keep this up any longer.”
And that view of the houses on Java Island were intended for the middle class, says Versteege. “The permits of care workers, social pedagogues and other Amsterdammers are being revoked. I need that car, my very elderly parents live in the east of the country, I also have to be able to go there in the middle of the night.”
Car-free city
The withdrawal of the parking permits has to do with the policy of the municipality that is aimed at making the city car-free. Blik should disappear from the street as far as possible, indoor parking garages then offer a solution. But the price differences are so great that when residents have a choice, they choose a spot on the street.
For Java Island, there has been a regulation for a number of years that new residents no longer agree on a residents’ permit. But people who already lived there do receive the choice. Result: you could often fire a cannon in the parking basements under the residential complexes, that’s how they were.
Losing parking garage
A spokesperson from investor Bouwinvest says that the municipality made a mistake by forcing buildings to be built and issuing future permits. “People are choosing eggs for their money and our loss-making garages.”
The words have to do with the people who are now being duped. “That’s really stupid, we understand that. On the other hand, the people knew that the old situation would come to an end. We are now discussing whether we can get these residents in one way or another. But the prices inside will always be higher than those of a residence permit. The council has let this simmer for far too long.”
No chords
The municipality is also concerned with the issue. Parking alderman van der Horst said to the city council last week that this is a problem. But there’s not much the alderman can do about it, she said. “This is in line with the regulation as drawn up by the municipality. If we want something different, we have to agree on it.”
The parking policy states that someone only has a parking permit if they are not allowed to have their own parking space. “You also have to do that when applying for a parking permit. If you live in a house that includes a parking garage, there is a chance that sooner or later you will have to park in the parking garage.”
Periodic control
To ensure that this happens and that the waiting list for people who do not have their own parking space cannot become too long, the municipality periodically limits. “We do not look at who has had a permit for how long, it is only a question of whether they can park in a parking garage or not. We therefore send the same letter to all permit holders who can park in a garage. The garage manager will issue a statement if there is no space.”