The city council has allowed Assen to continue with the refurbishment of the N371 near Kloosterveen. Residents felt trapped, but according to alderman Albert Smit they are given the opportunity to think along.
“Assen has failed to do what Midden-Drenthe has done, namely to involve the residents in the plans,” said Kees Boonzaadjer (City Party Plop) on Thursday evening during the council meeting.
Hassle about a sketch
The municipality of Assen, together with the province of Drenthe and the municipality of Midden-Drenthe, is working on adjusting the N371 between Kloosterveen and Bovensmilde. The college asked the city council for a preparatory credit of 350,000 euros and therefore published a draft design of the desired refurbishment a few weeks ago.
It shows that the Kloosterveen district, which is currently being expanded, will get a new access road via a bridge over the Hoofdvaart. The Norgerbrug, a thorn in the side of the province for a long time, will be replaced by a wider one that can handle more traffic. At the same time, the N371 will be moved and doubled and the connection with the N373 (Norgervaart) will be given a roundabout instead of the current T-junction. The crossing at the Polweg towards the Baggelhuizerplas will disappear.
A group of residents of the Sterrenbeddenbuurt in the Kloosterveen district are not satisfied with the sketch and want the crossing at the Polweg to be preserved. Local residents are also concerned about the increasing nuisance caused by particulate matter, noise and crowds, and they feel that they are faced with a fait accompli. Several council members therefore spoke of a ‘false start’ and urged the council to involve residents more in the plans.
Starting point
The latter will certainly happen, assured alderman Albert Smit (Assen Central) on Thursday evening. “Making a sketch design is necessary if you are negotiating with three governments about these kinds of plans. In a letter to local residents, we clearly indicated that this sketch is intended to be further elaborated together with the neighbourhood. Talking about a false start is therefore premature.”
The three governments have now planned a first walk-in meeting on 22 May at hotel Van der Valk on Balkenweg. According to the alderman, residents will then have every opportunity to think along, for example in sounding board groups. The council was thus reassured and gave the green light to continue working on the plans. “We wanted the alderman to promise that the local residents would be taken seriously,” Boonzaadjer said. “I am now convinced of that.”