🇳🇱📄👤 Netherlands Summary Guide for Members of the Public to Help Make City Streets More Inclusive for Pedestrians with Disabilities

Inclusive Public Space Project

1. How This Guide Has Come About and Who it is For

This guide is for any member of the public who wants to make streets more inclusive. It draws on relevant laws but doesn’t try to explain them all. It also makes suggestions which go beyond what the law requires.

2. The Guide: What Members of the Public Can Do to Help Make Pedestrian Spaces More Inclusive

2.1 When We’re a Pedestrian

  • Be alert to the possibility that other pedestrians may be persons with disabilities which may not be apparent to you. Note that a white cane indicates that the person holding it is blind or partially-sighted and that a red and white cane indicates that the person has both hearing and visual impairments. Note that somebody using hand gestures might be communicating in Sign Language and unable to hear.
  • Anticipate where there are narrow gaps and give people with disabilities time and space.
  • Keep any phone calls whilst on the move short and stop in an out-of-the-way place for longer calls.
  • Ask people with disabilities who seems to be struggling (eg to cross a road), if they’d like help. If they say yes, ask how they’d like to be helped – and listen to what they say.
  • Don’t drop litter or other potential trip or slip hazards.

Our Relevant Legal Obligations

  • Wegenverkeerswet / The Road Traffic Act 1994 
  • Reglement verkeersregels en verkeerstekens / Regulation Traffic Rules and Road Signs 1990 (RVV 1990) 
  • Civil Code – General tort provision, Article 6:162

 2.2 When We’re Driving Cars or Vans or Riding Motorbikes

  • Comply with The Road Traffic Act and other relevant laws and guidance.
  • Stop to let pedestrians with disabilities cross roads. 
  • Don’t park on pavements.
  • Don’t park so as to block dropped kerbs or pedestrian crossings.
  • Make sure that, when parking, there is nothing sticking out from vehicles across the pavement.
  • When parking, check for passing pedestrians before opening doors onto the pavement. 
  • Don’t park in spaces designated for persons with disabilities.

Our Relevant Legal Obligations

  • Wegenverkeerswet / The Road Traffic Act 1994 
  • Reglement verkeersregels en verkeerstekens / Regulation Traffic Rules and Road Signs 1990 (RVV 1990) 
  • Civil Code, Article 6:162
  • Municipal Ordinances

2.3 When We’re Cycling 

  • Avoid cycling on walkways or in areas with lots of pedestrians.
  • Be alert to pedestrians who might need to cross, particularly if they have a white cane, crutches or some other mobility device.
  • Slow down when you see young children on the pavement, in case they come into the road unexpectedly.
  • Slow down and stop to let pedestrians with disabilities cross.
  • Be aware that being a pedestrian (particularly with disabilities) on a busy road is extremely stressful and that there may be disability-related reasons for them not being on a pavement. Be considerate and helpful.
  • When cycling in a space that is shared with pedestrians, be mindful of them. Give them plenty of space and keep speed down or get off and push.
  • Fit bikes with working bells, so pedestrians who can hear will know you’re coming.

Our Relevant Legal Obligations

  • Wegenverkeerswet / The Road Traffic Act 1994
  • Reglement verkeersregels en verkeerstekens / Regulation Traffic Rules and Road Signs 1990 (RVV 1990) 
  • Civil Code, Article 6:162
  • Municipal Ordinances

2.4. When We’re Using Scooters (bromfietsen of snorfietsen) or Other Micro-Mobility Devices

  • Comply with all relevant laws and guidance.
  • Never ride (bromfietsen of snorfietsen) on pavements, even if it is technically lawful to do so. Dismount and push.
  • When in spaces that are shared with pedestrians, always be mindful of pedestrians – get off and push, or give them plenty of space and keep speed down.

Our Relevant Legal Obligations

  • Wegenverkeerswet / The Road Traffic Act 1994
  • Reglement verkeersregels en verkeerstekens / Regulation Traffic Rules and Road Signs 1990 (RVV 1990)
  • Civil Code, Article 6:162
  • Municipal Ordinances

2.5 When We’re at Work or Running a Business

  • Don’t put advertisements or other boards/signs on pavements.
  • Don’t allow anything (eg an open window) to stick out from a building into the pavement at head-height or below.
  • Make sure that outdoor café furniture etc is enclosed by some kind of surrounding border fence, which extends to floor-level so that it can be detected by blind people using long canes.
  • Keep nearby pavements clean and free of rubbish.
  • Comply with best practice design guidance for the installation and positioning of ramps and other access features.

Our Relevant Legal Obligations

  • Civil Code, Article 6:162
  • Civil Code, Article 6:174
  • The Building Decree and the Spatial Planning Act (from 1/1/2024)
  • Municipal Ordinances

 2.6 When We’re at Home 

  • Make sure no trees or bushes stick out over the pavement at head-height or below.
  • Don’t create trip hazards across the pavement – eg bikes or signs.
  • Make sure that vehicles (such as cars or bikes) are parked off the pavement.
  • Keep nearby pavements clear of bins, obstacles and rubbish.
  • Report any faults or hazards nearby pavements to the local municipality.

Our Relevant Legal Obligations

  • Civil Code, Article 6:162
  • Civil Code, Article 6:174
  • Municipal Ordinances

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