According to New Fork, the process is easy. Every employee (whether working from home or in an office) can order their own lunch until 9:30 in the morning via the New Fork app. Later on, at noon, they can go grab their lunch at a pick-up point. According to New Fork, all their pickup points are no more than 15 minutes walking distance, from any location in Rotterdam. It's definitely an interesting concept, as businesses can provide their hybrid-work employees with a paid-for canteen lunch experience; a perk that many have gone without while working from home. 

 

 Yorick van Baarsel of New Fork states: "In this way, home workers feel involved in the office and eat a quality healthy lunch like at the office. We call this smart catering. There is also the choice of where the lunches are to be delivered: the office or the New Fork pick-up point. We expect smart catering to be the future, which is why we are experimenting with this type of concept, because if you don't dare, you don't win."

 

The hospitality industry in general has had a rough ride in recent years. But entrepreneurship, according to Yorick, is not about "throwing in the towel and giving up in difficult times. We think that hybrid work will continue and that is why we are rolling out this proposition in Rotterdam, because you can learn from experimentation. If it proves to be a success, the rest of the Netherlands is at our feet."

 

 

The Picnic food forest will offer space for meeting, education and participation in the field of nature and food. The forest will be a natural ecosystem, but focused on the production of food. In the coming period, a combination of nut trees, fruit bushes and other edible plants will be planted, with education for colleagues, customers, children and suppliers as a starting point. In addition, increasing biodiversity is central; small mammals, birds and insects find their home in the forest.

 

The online supermarket's food forest combines food production, ecological richness and a high experiential value. When sufficient experience is gained, the initiative can be expanded. Michiel Muller, co-founder of Picnic: "We are the modern milkman who delivers sustainably. We are also trying to make the food supply itself more sustainable by shortening the path from farmer to plate. A food forest gives new inspiration and is in line with the whole Picnic team's commitment to sustainable business."

 

Planting and maintenance will be done by Picnic employees for the next six years.

  

 

Rotterdam, 15 February 2022 - For guests and local residents, McDonald's restaurant Rotterdam Groene Hilledijk will from now on organize a casual contact moment with local police officers on the second Monday of the month. The restaurant chain is doing this under the title Koffie met een Cop (Coffee with a Cop), an initiative to bring the neighbourhood closer together. Everyone is welcome. While enjoying a cup of coffee, officers talk to local residents about what is going on in the neighbourhood. 

 

Groene Hilledijk is the first Rotterdam McDonald's restaurant to offer Coffee with a Cop. This originally American idea was first introduced in the Netherlands in 2016, by McDonald's Dordrecht. The accessibility of McDonald's to all walks of life makes a conversation between cops and citizens low-key. Because the agents hear first-hand what is going on in the neighbourhood, they are better able to respond to the needs of residents. The Groene Hilledijk restaurant is one of the dozens of McDonald's restaurants in the Netherlands that offer this service. 

 

Ben Franken, Franchisee of McDonald's Rotterdam Groene Hillendijk: "As a good neighbour, we want to connect and help society move forward. I care about this neighbourhood and with my restaurant I like to fulfil the bridging function between citizens and police in order to keep the neighbourhood liveable and pleasant. It's only a small effort for us to make our restaurant available at set times so that guests and the police can have a casual conversation over a cup of coffee that we offer." 

 

 

Extra lineation on Witte de Withstraat reserves space for cyclists and ensures that car traffic can travel slower. In order to meet the legal requirements for a 30 km/h street, speed bumps will be installed at the intersections from April onwards. Alderwoman Judith Bokhove of Mobility, Youth and Language unveiled the 30 km/h signs. "The changes to turn this street into a 30 km/h zone are large and expensive. In order to be able to introduce 30 km/h in many more streets, we are asking the national government to relax the standards for 30 km/h streets. Then we can introduce and enforce the lower speed faster and cheaper" says Bokhove.

 

Rotterdam wants to introduce a maximum speed of 30 km/h in the city for cars and freight. This reduction in the speed limit to 30 km/h ensures a safe and attractive city. It is expected that the number of car journeys in the city will fall by 78,000 as people opt for a bicycle or public transport. In addition, the lower speed helps make traffic clearer and safer.

 

Since 80% of the accidents take place on roads with a 50 km/h speed limit, lowering this speed limit is an effective means to increase traffic safety in the city. Moreover, the impact of a traffic accident at 30 km/h is much less, and pedestrians and cyclists even have a 90% higher chance of surviving the accident when colliding with a car.

 

This year, the municipality started lowering the speed limit in 18 streets in Rotterdam. Witte de Withstraat is the first street where 30 km/h is the standard. The other streets are: Willem Buijtewechstraat, Claes de Vrieselaan, Mathenesserlaan, Van Aerssenlaan, Bentincklaan, Walenburgerweg, Bergweg, Bergselaan, Rodenrijselaan, Zaagmolenstraat, Benthuizerstraat, Hofplein, Jonker Fransstraat, Haagseveer, Gedempte Zalmhaven, Lange Hilleweg and Willemsbrug.