CARP

Regular readers of this column will by no doubt know about my obsession with public transport and personal transport (e.g. bicycles) in this city. I never miss an opportunity to play mum and to tell everyone how important bike lights are. Well yours truly was caught cycling without lights recently and I got fined. Funny thing was, a guy cycling in the opposite direction tried to warn me by yelling - but I thought he was just another nutter.

For a split second I contemplated giving the police a false name and address, like Alfie Moon, Albert Square, but I was sure I couldn't pull it off and keep a straight face. Anyway, after I had given my personal details the policewoman said that if I didn't find a fine in my letterbox within the next two months, I wouldn't have to pay. Apparently there's this law that the police must send you the fine within two months, other wise it will become invalid. And, so she said with a smile, they are extremely busy and there's a backlog of admin. I was very hopeful that I wouldn't get a accept giro within the time limit, but alas, today I found my €15 fine waiting for me on my doormat.

Ah well, €15 is peanuts compared to €860.000. That's what German company Siemens has to fork out to repair just one of the 140 new Combino trams that have been running through the city for the last two years. All 140 €3.7 million apiece trams have a destruction defect. The trams were supposed to last thirty years, but because of the design error that causes hair cracks, this is not the case. Amsterdam was supposed to buy another 12 trams, but wisely has put this idea in the freezer for the time being. Per tram it will approximately six weeks to repair.

Although not everyone will agree with me, the Bijlmermeer in the south east of Amsterdam is hardly a quiet suburb. Muggings, drug deals, junkies and shop robberies all happen there very often. What's more, it has a large number of addicts, addicted to a whole A-Z of drugs. Surprisingly, with all the wheeling and dealing in this part of town, there isn't a single coffee shop in the Blijmer. But if the council in that part of the city gets its way, this won't be for long. A majority of the council is willing to relax the laws that have prevented this so far. They think the Amsterdamse Poort shopping centre, or the nearby Arena Boulevard will be a perfect location for the first Bijlmer coffeeshop.

And to end on a much lighter and happier note, two storks have taken up residence in the Vondelpark in a tree near the tennis court. They've been really busy making a nest on top of a tree and are now brooding over their eggs. According to a biologist in Het Parool, the storks sometimes have to fly all the way to Osdorp to find food. It will take about another two weeks before the eggs hatch and then we'll know how many baby storks there are...

Carp February 2004
Carp March 2004