Bram and Erika Vink live in the vicinity of the Geester- en Kennemersingel and the sound of passing traffic is a major disturbance for them. With the citizens’ initiative ‘Safety and quality of life Kennemer- en Geestersingel’ they advocate a 30 km zone on the canals.
Now they drive at a speed of 50 kilometers per hour. “That causes a lot of noise, pollution and unsafe situations,” they summarized to the media partner Alkmaar Central. Tonight their citizens’ initiative will be discussed in the Alkmaar city council.
“We are not anti-car,” says Bram. “But we have looked with local residents at what could be improved here.” They received neighbors at home, spoke to them on the street and drew up a questionnaire.
Survey
Of the 72 households on this part of the Geester- en Kennemersingel, 53 responded to the survey that Bram and Erika distributed. “And there are also offices here, which count towards that number of 72 houses. So we have really been able to reach a lot of people.”
The survey showed that 93 percent of respondents would like to see the speed limit lower: from 50 kilometers per hour to 30 kilometers per hour. The residents expect that this would significantly improve their living enjoyment. “People responded very enthusiastically when we started doing this,” Erika explains. “They said, ‘We’ve been dealing with this for ten years.’ We really hope we can make a change.”
And local residents are not only concerned about noise, traffic safety is also a major concern. “Just look at the Vondelstraat, which disappeared transformed after yet another fatal accident up to 30 km zone.”
Directive
The canals would previously have been repaved with sound-absorbing material, but residents say that would make little difference. According to the initiators, the government has now also drawn up a guideline for these types of roads.
“We had already proposed our own solutions, but have added this directive as an appendix to our citizens’ initiative.” That guideline states that a 30 km zone must be established for a road such as the Geester- en Kennemersingel, which is also used by cyclists, where there is parking, where there are schools, and with crossing points for pedestrians.
Yet politicians in Alkmaar are already putting on the brakes. The citizens’ initiative will be discussed in the council tonight, but five coalition parties have come up with an amendment, a proposal for a change: “We share the opinion that road safety should be improved, but we would not like to have this part examined separately,” signatories OPA, D66 write. , SPA, CDA and VVD.
‘Important for Inner Ring’
They point to the ‘ring model’ used in Alkmaar and the importance of the canals as parts of the Inner Ring. They therefore argue for the ideas from the citizens’ initiative to be “included in the overall mobility vision”.
“Then it will take longer. While: the time to take action is now,” Bram responds. “There is a subsidy fund to better insulate houses. Many of these houses still have single glazing, and there are monuments among them. There is money for better sound insulation, but that money can also be used to make the road a 30 km zone. I I don’t know if that covers all the costs, but at least there is money.”