Entrepreneurs have to call the ambulance, cyclists feel unsafe and residents are seriously injured. Every day, several people fall on the slippery slope around the Markt in Den Bosch, sometimes resulting in serious injuries. “I saw someone with their collarbone sticking out and their face bloodied.”
Smooth stones, sloping edges and hustle and bustle. There is a lot of bicycle traffic on the Markt in Den Bosch every day, which can be very dangerous because the road is not the same everywhere. There is a sloping edge with large, smooth stones surrounding the Market. And those stones cause many cyclists to fall.
“That’s because of the sloping edge of the sidewalk,” says fishmonger Silvester Annevlink Dtv News. His stall is located directly opposite an area where things often go wrong. “The biggest cause of falls are the pieces of curb near the wells,” he continues. “There is some space in between, so cyclists ride into it and then they fall over.”
The height difference in the edge is not the only problem that causes cyclists to fall more often on the Markt. The stones that form the edge are very smooth. “Most people fall when it has rained and the tiles are wet,” says Annevelink. The fishmonger has seen many accidents, from protruding collarbones to bloody faces. “I once took someone to the hospital because they fell so hard.”
A brasserie located right next to the dangerous point says it regularly has to call the ambulance for fallen cyclists. Tijs van den Oever, a bartender with a good view of the ‘hotspot’, also recognizes the problem: “When we stand behind the bar, we have a perfect view of the spot where a lot of people are drinking. This happens at least once or twice a day, especially when the weather is wet.”
During the filming of the Dtv News report, a man falls on the dangerous curb. “I came from Hinthamerstraat and then I fell on the edge here. You don’t go straight over the edge, but a bit diagonally. An inclined plane and having to cycle over it is asking for problems,” says the fallen cyclist.
And Silvester knows even more stories of falls. “There was once a scooter here with a child on the back. It crashed onto the curb. The child flew over the scooter. That is simply life-threatening.”
Passerby Marijke Heerebout says that she prefers to get off her bike on the stretch: “I find it so dangerous here, that’s why I prefer to walk with my bike in hand.” A few weeks ago she collided with another cyclist on the Markt, and she says that a friend also slipped there due to the slippery conditions. “She rode over the edge with her new bicycle, there were leaves on it and she slipped on it. As a result, she is now at home with a broken hip.”
Bartender Tijs thinks the whole situation is ridiculous. “This isn’t possible, is it? It just has to be safe. For the same amount of money, a grandmother will soon break her bones. This has to be adjusted.”