More boating on Hague waterways

The plans to make The Hague’s waterways more attractive for recreational, leisure and business purposes have been well-received in the city.

People directly involved are pleased with the ideas which are intended to make the city’s water attractive for boating.

This could be seen from the reactions during the opportunity for public comment (inspraakronde) following the publication of the memorandum in October 2011. Eight organisations, including the boat tour operators, the association of houseboat occupants and the Avenue Culinaire business association, have all submitted their comments.

A plan has been drawn up calling for a number of action points, including replacing the dam in the Koninginnegracht (Bosbrug) with a bridge so that boats can sail through. It would then become possible to sail from The Hague’s Central Station to Scheveningen in 15 minutes.

Deputy Mayor Sander Dekker (Finance and City Management) announced earlier that the municipality would clean up ramshackle boats, tackle overdue maintenance of houseboats and address the misuse of embankments for seating and storage. New regulations have been drafted for the city’s inland waterways.

The Municipal Council still needs to take a decision on the memorandum and regulations.