“It has to be done faster and slower in Haarlem.” A statement by councilor Janneke Moedt of the Party for the Animals, which the majority of the municipal council supports. Haarlem, following Amsterdam’s example, wants 30 kilometers per hour to become the maximum speed in the city. But it will not happen here as abruptly as it happened in Amsterdam.
Early last year is in 53 Haarlem streets the maximum speed was quickly reduced to 30 kilometers per hour. On half of the other roads, which also have many homes, shops and schools, the accelerator will also have to be released in the future.
This concerns all roads in and around the old Haarlem center, but also, for example, traffic arteries such as the Kleverlaan in Haarlem-Noord and the Zijlweg towards the Western Randweg.
The maps below show which roads with a current speed limit of 50 kilometers per hour (red) will change into roads with a maximum speed of 30 kilometers per hour (purple). Text continues after the image.
Traffic jam capital of the Netherlands
During the political discussion about this plan last week, it was not surprising that the VVD is against the plan, for fear of even more congestion in a city that is already known as the traffic jam capital of the Netherlands.
Councilor Eloy Aerssens is even proof in Amsterdam where the speed limit of 30 kilometers per hour has been introduced on many access roads in one fell two weeks. “Because I kept the speed carefully, I caused a traffic jam and cars honking behind me.”
In addition to the VVD, the Christian Union in Haarlem is also not convinced of the plan. Frank Visser mainly sees problems with the buses. Transport organizations have indeed told the municipality that they fear that buses will be less able to travel through the city as quickly as possible and that they will therefore be forced to divert routes or even cancel lines.
Running times for buses and emergency services
Councilor Bas van Leeuwen thinks that things will not progress that quickly. Implementation on all streets will take ‘decades’, the plan states. And that is why public transport will not immediately notice the effect in driving times. The emergency services also do not expect to have extra response time, because Van Leeuwen has promised to work with speed bumps as little as possible when redesigning the roads.
Other political parties agree with the plan, which will be released for participation by Haarlem residents from the beginning of January. But things are not happening fast enough for some parties, such as the Party for the Animals. “Why can’t the bus be ten seconds slower,” councilor Janneke Moedt wonders. “It has to slow down much faster on the roads in Haarlem.” She even proposes introducing a maximum speed of 30 kilometers per hour on even more streets.
Rustenburgerstraat
Who else can’t move fast enough are the residents of Rustenburgerlaan. Already in this street a lot of resistance against the increase in the number of double-deckers and long buses on their streets. “A bus driver regularly tries to drive at high speed
just got the green light,” Kees de Wit tells the council members once again. “And that near a school.”
The municipality is already trying to make the road safer through redesign and now Rustenburgerstraat is also on the nomination to become a 30 kilometer road. Kees de Wit and his neighbors now have one request for the municipality: “Do it quickly and enter that maximum speed with us first!”