The Lorentz Casimir Lyceum in Eindhoven is going to expand and the municipality wants to allow construction traffic to drive through the Wasven nature reserve. Many local residents are angry, because according to them the route is not logical and it can certainly be done differently. A petition has now been signed more than 700 times.
The Lorentz Casimir Lyceum itself is surrounded by 24 hectares of landscape: managed by Groendomein Wasven. The secondary school for havo and vwo will be newly built. The construction of a new building will start next year. After two years, when the new building is finished, the old building will be demolished.
But the municipality wants construction traffic to drive straight through the surrounding Wasven, instead of on the road that runs past the school. And therein lies the pain for local residents. The Wasven is a historic nature reserve with a fen, forest, a horse meadow and fields. Ancient grains and wild flowers are grown there. Badgers and salamanders live there and the hiking trails crisscross the nature reserve. Local residents are now afraid that all this will be destroyed by sending construction traffic through it.
They would much rather see all the trucks driving via Celebeslaan, the road that runs in front of the school. That’s a fast bike path. But the municipality does not think this is a good idea because it is less traffic safe there. That is why she has chosen to have all construction traffic drive along the back of the school: through the Wasven.
“There wasn’t even an investigation.”
Alfred van Kempen is chairman of the Groendomein Wasven foundation. He doesn’t understand the route the municipality wants at all. Together with 170 other volunteers, Alfred takes care of the Wasven. “It will take years before the damage caused by construction traffic is repaired. Such a shame for what we have all built up over the years,” says the chairman.
Apart from the damage to nature, he doesn’t think the route is logical at all. “The city council’s arguments are so skewed,” he says. “For example, a traffic investigation has not even been carried out to determine whether Celebeslaan is really unsafe.”
According to him, the municipality would also not have thought completely ahead about how construction traffic can leave again, once the new school building has been built. That building blocks the way back through the Wasven. “And then they are suddenly allowed to return via Celebeslaan”, says Van Kempen indignantly.
“Who walks past only trucks with their grandchild?”
To make the municipality change its mind, a petition has been started against the route of construction traffic. Local resident Paul Peeters, among others, has signed: “We really hope that the municipality will reconsider its decision.” Annejet Meijler has also signed. Her child and grandchildren live there. “The municipality says that you will still be able to walk there, but who walks past only trucks with their grandchild?”
The municipality of Eindhoven has announced that it has investigated five routes. “We made a road safety analysis and we looked at the impact on nature. This resulted in the safest route with the least impact on nature.”
The municipality acknowledges that local residents and visitors to the Wasven can be inconvenienced by the construction. “The hiking trails in the area, the dog walking field and the kicking field will remain accessible.”