The old cycle path in the Oosterboer may still be available for walkers. A majority in local politics advocates this, only the VVD would like the path to be closed to all traffic.
The municipality recently constructed a new cycle path, which is located right next to the old path. That old path is also an access road to a farm. Only a roadside and trees lie between the two strips. The owner of the farm has asked the municipality to close the access path to traffic and pedestrians. Local politics does not go along with this. Most parties see an opportunity to keep cyclists and pedestrians separated.
‘The new cycle path offers cyclists a safe, independent route. Adding pedestrians can lead to unsafe traffic situations and it is therefore important that the path remains public for pedestrians. In this way, cyclists and pedestrians remain separated from each other’, according to ChristenUnie, D66, GroenLinks/PvdA, SP and Sterk Meppel. These parties also believe that the general interest of public access and the use of the road by pedestrians outweighs the individual interest of the resident.
It is yet another discussion about the cycle path in the neighborhood in Meppel. It was the subject of more than two years of dispute after objections from the neighborhood about its construction. Now that the path is in place, the discussion is that the path would be too narrow for cyclists and pedestrians. There are no official rules for this, but a general guideline indicates that a cycle path that pedestrians also use must be at least 3.3 meters wide. This newly constructed path is approximately 2.5 meters wide.
However, this does not end the discussion. Because there will now be six weeks in which people can object to politicians’ proposal to keep the path public.