The municipality of Borger-Odoorn has drawn up rules regarding roadside monuments. These rules did not exist, but the council drew them up at the request of the municipal council.
“The request came at the initiative of Municipal Interests,” says Mayor Jan Seton. “They had heard from the area that people are looking for something to hold on to when it comes to roadside monuments.”
Family and friends of victims of a traffic accident, for example, must in future apply for an exemption for a roadside monument from the municipality of Borger-Odoorn. This applies to municipal roads. The province of Drenthe has its own policy when it comes to roadside monuments along provincial roads.
“We understand that people do not immediately think of calling the municipality,” says Seton. “We fully understand that and we are not going to enforce it very hard. We then contact the family to ensure everything runs smoothly. We understand that it is a sad period for the family and surviving relatives and that they should make that known. want to make along the way.”
According to Seton, road safety comes first. “The monuments are usually created after a traffic accident. It must be safe. We also allow more in the beginning of the monument than after a number of weeks or months. We have set deadlines for this. But you see that in practice In the beginning there are a lot of flowers in some places and over time they become fewer. In this way it often resolves itself.”
According to the mayor, the current roadside monuments in the municipality can be counted on ‘one hand or perhaps two hands’. “There was also no problem with the safety of roadside monuments, for example, we did not often encounter signals. But we have now drawn up a policy so that people know where they stand. The roadside monuments that are now there do not have to be removed.”