But then the museum got a new director who tried to change the plans in 2011. He claimed the combination of two entrances and the cycle traffic would be dangerous to the many foreign pedestrians who wouldn’t understand the cycle path there. Amsterdam and its provincial cycle path through the national museum would be ridiculed by the world, he said. The local branch of the Cyclists’ Union disagreed. The city opposed as well, but the local authority (South District) agreed with the museum management. There was a nasty and public fight. There was a report with figures that were wrongly stating it would be safer to have a detour. The director claimed that dealing with the underpass cost him more time than taking care of the paintings and he also tried to make people believe this struggle postponed the re-opening of the museum with several years: ridiculous and false. Proponents of the underpass said the director, coming from Rotterdam, didn’t understand the sentiments of the people in Amsterdam, who love cycling far more than people from Rotterdam. But much more substantial: the Cyclists’ Union was able to prove that the figures used in the opponents’ report were wrong. Cycling through the underpass would be significantly safer for people on bicycles and on foot compared to having people cycling around the museum. The detour would involve left turns on busy intersections and because of the detour cyclists and pedestrians would cross each other’s paths many more times.