Current Situation & Key Challenge
Amsterdam IJ is a busy waterway, attracting diverse users, from pleasure boats to commercial barges. However, the increasing shared use of the river can pose safety and accessibility issues if not managed effectively by authorities and users. Collaborative measures are needed to maximise societal value and ensure safe and responsible use.
The Challenge: How can we make the IJ-area, with its diverse, growing and changing population, a safe, sustainable and economic viable shared space?
Realised Experiments
Connected River aims to boost capacities of multi-stakeholder ecosystems to deliver services that guarantee safety, accessibility, and liveability of shared Waterways & Waterfronts in the North Sea Region. As part of the project, a wide range of experiments were carried out across all six pilot areas.
The following experiments have been realised in Amsterdam:
- Pink signs have been placed at the entrances to the IJ to encourage people to take safer alternative routes through the city centre
- A prototype navigation app has been developed that could be helpful for events such as SAIL 2025
- Together with students a serious game has been created that introduces the rules and risky events at the IJ
- A co-creation program with Waag Futurelab has been created involving recreational skippers in developing new communication concepts on the water
At the end of the experimenting phase, the partners selected the most successful digital and smart solutions, which are to be scaled up and implemented outside the pilot areas in the future.
Following the successful pilot in Amsterdam, this project centers on the spatial upscaling of innovative signage to enhance safety across the broader Dutch waterway network. By strategically transferring proven experimental designs from the city's canals to a regional level, the initiative translates local behavioral insights into a large-scale solution for harmonizing recreational and professional traffic. This upscaling process ensures that the specialized knowledge gained in Amsterdam is adapted to meet the demands of diverse water environments throughout Holland. Consequently, the project transforms a local success story into a nationwide standard for safer, more cooperative shared watersways.
Implemented Solutions
A cost-effective banner solution was co-developed with end users, resulting in improved waterway safety while reducing trial and design costs through strong user involvement.
Latest News
Find out more about the pilot area in our latest Project News.
What is your objective within Connected River?
The IJ is a busy waterway connecting the port of Amsterdam with Belgium and Germany, yearly about 100,000 barges are passing. It is also at the heart of the city.
The project partner Rijkswaterstaat starts with the first experiment in the pilot area IJ Amsterdam. Their aim is to find out whether they can influence recreational boaters to choose a different route by using signs with a positive message and to make the waterways safer.
In July, the Amsterdam IJ pilot team came together for a Design Sprint-workshop at the innovative Marineterrein in the citycentre of Amsterdam.
In the inspiring IJzaal of the Tolhuis Tuin overlooking the Amsterdam IJ on March 28th, the Interreg project Connected River kicked-off a 3-day event with a 10-minute count down and a loud sounding ship’s horn.