According to Dirk Boom of the Naobuur organization, the average age in the village is about 67 years old. With a wheelchair that he offers for rent, he demonstrates how much effort it takes to arrive safely at the square at all. If the gullies in the road are not bad enough at the access road, the square itself forms an obstacle course for the elderly with the loose stones and potholes.
In addition to refurbishing the paths, he prefers that the square become a point where people feel at home and which makes life easier. “There are a lot of lonely people. We have organizations for that like here at Naobuur where people can come for transport or for chores, but that is only part of what people’s health is.”
traffic hub
To combat loneliness, Boom is also thinking of a hub for various means of transport near the square. “Then you have to think of public transport, the bus lines. But also micro transport, so offering means of transport from the square that can be used to home.”
Electric bicycles, scooters or cars. Too many options. “The advantage is that people who want to transfer from one mode of transport to another don’t have to walk for a while. If you have transport in one place and people have to wait for the bus once, then you also have a whole. Then people don’t have to be left out in the cold.”
“We have enough ideas”, Kreike laughs. “We just have to go after money. But that will be fine. I think in a few years there will be a very nice square here.”