TRACK was commissioned by the municipality of Amstelveen to write a vision on sports in public space within and outside the city. The (individual) outdoor sports is on the rise in Amstelveen, the alderman for sports of Amstelveen saw the need to make the public space more suitable and safer for sports and exercise. On the one hand, the research provided insight into which places in Amstelveen are frequently used for outdoor sports and, on the other hand, it made clear where additional facilities or measures may be needed for outdoor athletes, such as runners, cyclists, inline skaters and walkers. With the report of TRACK-landscapes as a basis, an implementation plan has now been drawn up (short, medium and long term) that has been adopted by the Board and is being implemented.

TRACK developed an online map survey in which more than 300 runners, walkers and cyclists mapped out their view on opportunities for improvement in and around Amstelveen. These insights were reflected with insights into the sporting use of public space, by collecting exercise data from activity tracking apps.  

The research showed that there is a surprising amount of overlap between the wishes of runners, cyclists and walkers. The annoying/dangerous intersections, busy paths, the lack of greenery, lack of sporting facilities in the outdoor area and the poor condition of paths were identified by the various groups and mapped out online.  

A clear distinction could be made between opportunities within and outside the urban fabric. Amstelveen can improve the network of bicycle and pedestrian paths with less traffic, green, well-lit routes that have priority over motorized traffic in the neighbourhoods, link parks together, and make a direct connection to the landscape outside the neighbourhoods. 

In the landscape outside the city, there appear to be many opportunities to improve the quality of footpaths. Especially runners proved to be able to point out exactly where the quality and width of paths is substandard. There are also several large barriers in the landscape that can be bridged or tunneled under. It turned out that various desirable connections for sporty runners and cyclists strongly overlap with interests for utilitarian bicycle traffic.  

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With the addition of signposted walking rounds, water taps and some urban gyms, the exercise network can really be completed.