The alternative plan of local residents for traffic in and out of the new De Scheg-West and -Midden district is ‘not desirable’. This is the conclusion of an additional study that the municipality had carried out at the insistence of local residents.
They have united in the Working Group Unlock Scheg Differently (OSA). The people of Westwijk have been trying to convince the municipality for some time that it is a bad idea to have the access roads to and from the new district run through their neighborhood.
The municipality’s plan means that the existing Hammarskjöldsingel will be extended to Weldam, directing traffic to and from De Scheg-West and -Midden through Westwijk. The group is afraid that the traffic pressure in their neighborhood will become too great. “I no longer dare to let my children cycle to school,” a concerned mother addressed the council during a consultation opportunity.
The group would prefer that the new residential area be opened twice on the Legmeerdijk provincial road (N231). The fact that the municipality never had the alternative investigated did not sit well with the residents.
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That is why the municipality has engaged the Goudappel consultancy firm. The consultancy firm’s research is an addition to the traffic study that the agency previously conducted. They then investigated the possibility of opening the Legmeerdijk twice. The study examines the extent to which the number of traffic movements on various roads in Westwijk increases when a specific scenario is chosen.
Goudappel concludes that full access to the Legmeerdijk will result in a sharp increase in traffic intensity on that road. It is expected that around 20,300 cars will drive across the southern part of the Legmeerdijk every day instead of 15,100 in the case of the municipality’s plan. As for the northern part, that is 21,800 compared to 19,300.
More crowded
In addition, several roads in the west of the district and the intersection between Jane Addamslaan and Legmeerdijk will become busier, according to Goudappel, and this could possibly lead to unsafe traffic situations. That is why the municipality sticks to its own traffic plan. This plan does mean that roads in the east of Westwijk, such as the Hammarskjöldsingel, will become a lot busier.
Next Wednesday the council will make a decision on the zoning plan for the new district. If this is approved, the municipality’s traffic plan can be implemented.