According to the latest bi-annual “Safety Monitor” survey, conducted by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) among 150.000 people over the age of 15, when asked which neighbourhood nuisance should be tackled first, the majority answered speeding.

Issues in Dutch neighbourhoods

Whilst almost a quarter of respondents felt that speeding was the most urgent issue in their neighbourhood, 17,9 percent found dog excrement to be the most critical issue in need of immediate attention. Another 15,4 percent perceived parking problems to be the greatest issue at hand. Litter also belongs in the top four of neighbourhood nuisances, according to the survey.

When looking at the urgency of certain issues, regional differences become apparent. In the neighbourhoods of municipalities, which also encompass major Dutch cities, for example, residents feel that litter and parking problems should be addressed with priority.

In Amsterdam, 27 percent of residents would like to see litter on the streets tackled first, compared to 12 percent who feel that speeding has priority. Neighbourhoods outside of large cities experience bother from speeding and dog excrement. This is apparent in Emmen, for example, where 34 percent of respondents would like the government to address speeding with precedence.

Dutch municipal problem patterns

Dutch municipalities with over 70.000 residents tend to prioritise neighbourhood nuisances in the same way as large cities, such as Amsterdam, namely having litter and parking problems at the top of the list of things to address. Smaller municipalities, with less than 70.000 residents found speeding and dog excrement to be the biggest nuisances.

Close to the border of Germany and Belgium, residents of large municipalities indicated that drug-related nuisances should have the highest priority when it comes to issues that need to be tackled. At the bottom of the list of problems deserving priority were graffiti, public drunks, being assaulted on the street and disturbances by hospitality businesses. These issues were deemed important by less than 1 percent of respondents.