The Amsterdamsestraatweg: the street where, back in 2009, I didn't much like waiting for the bus on my own. At the opening drinks for my office, people very kindly said: on to an office on the Maliebaan in the future. The Maliebaan: beautiful and stately. But not my goal. I chose the Amsterdamsestraatweg very deliberately.
Contents
- Information evening on the future of the Straatweg
- Entrepreneurs on the Amsterdamsestraatweg
- Developments
- Change
- Living in an up-and-coming neighbourhood?
Information evening on the future of the Straatweg
Last Tuesday I went to a meeting about the future of the Amsterdamsestraatweg. The municipality of Utrecht is busy with the redesign plan and with tackling the aggressive shopfront advertising. Research has been done into the shopping behaviour of the Noordwest Utrecht district, and they've looked at the target group that will be coming to live around the Amsterdamsestraatweg. This week a flyer also landed on the doormat about the information evening for the new-build project Wisselspoor. In addition, the Cartesiusdriehoek is going to be redeveloped.
Entrepreneurs on the Amsterdamsestraatweg
All these developments are the reason not only that my office is based on the Amsterdamsestraatweg, but also that I moved into the neighbourhood myself. More and more nice entrepreneurs are setting up on the Straatweg. The sharing boards I give away when someone sells or buys a home, I buy at &Meer. At my place you drink your coffee from Echtwaar mugs, which I buy at Familie van Rijk. My lunch meetings are generally at The Food Club. I've now also discovered Rigakis, a shop selling Greek specialities. At my housewarming I cooked an Asian dinner with ingredients from The Oriental Shop. For presents, Winkel vol Winkeltjes, for example, is an excellent place to go.
Developments
By 2030 this district will have another 10,000 residents. That could give the neighbourhood an enormous boost. It used to be a street full of speciality shops. Not a street with 30 hairdressers, shawarma joints and phone shops. These days I often cycle over to the Sligro for nice cheeses and fish. A delicatessen like Peek & Van Beurden would make me very happy! Even better if they kept opening hours until 20:00, so that everyone coming home from work could go too. Great, right? A wine bar, de Spaghetteria or another nice little bar would also be a welcome addition to the Straatweg, I think.
Change
The Amsterdamsestraatweg is slowly changing: young people are moving into the side streets, the old social rented homes are being done up, and there are still friendly, real Utrechters living there. I now live there myself and love it. I see my own generation buying houses in these neighbourhoods. Once we all wanted to live in Wittevrouwen, the Vogelenbuurt and Oudwijk, but because of rising house prices we have to look for alternatives. The Amsterdamsestraatweg is a special street. It used to be a beautiful street with real allure; will that come back after the redesign? I certainly hope so.
Living in an up-and-coming neighbourhood?
Would you like to live in an up-and-coming neighbourhood? A neighbourhood where the entrepreneurs and the municipality are actively working to improve the street? I'd be happy to give you advice! I also know of a home that isn't on Funda yet.
