Amsterdam is taking new measures to ease tourist pressure on its popular red-light district including compulsory clean-up breaks in streets and monitoring of crowds, the council said Tuesday. The announcement comes days after the city's ombudsman warned its bustling centre was turning into a "lawless jungle" at night with police powerless to intervene against crime and violence.
"Apart from existing measures, Amsterdam will now take extra action to reduce pressure on the city centre and to improve access to the 'Wallen'," the city council said in a statement. The 'Wallen' (Dutch for 'canal banks'), is the inner city's seedy red light district and includes its infamous red-framed windows where prostitutes ply their trade.
"A lot of rubbish gets thrown in the streets. Therefore 'mop-up pauses' are being introduced for certain streets," the city said. "Parts of the Wallen will then be closed off to the public in order to properly rid streets," of waste and vomit, it said. Amsterdam also monitors visitor numbers, coded from green to orange to red, depending on numbers.