A woman with a stroller also understands why the municipality is intervening, but has doubts about this solution. She also finds the fence dangerous, but also understands why cyclists use the sidewalk here: the Munnikkenweg is paved with cobblestones. “Of course that doesn’t cycle well at all.”
According to resident Piet Pieters, an alternative, such as a swing fence, was not possible here. “The sidewalk here is too narrow for such a swing fence. That is why this solution was installed.” He says that the fence was installed after complaints from the neighborhood.
Couldn’t open the gate at first
Yet Piet thinks that the problem is not completely solved with the gate. “They cycle from the beginning of the street to the gate and only then leave the sidewalk. So it only really benefits my neighbor,” he says, laughing.
A woman walking her dog also has difficulty with the closure. “I couldn’t even open it at first,” she says. “You really have to push hard before it starts to move at all.”
The municipality leaves it to the media partner Regional city Central know that the gate is indeed not functioning properly. “We are working on making the swing gate lighter and otherwise replacing it.”
