“Look at this very carefully, because this plan will lead to enormous loss of turnover for many entrepreneurs.” Johan Dorgelo of Wolters Juweliers in Coevorden delivered this message during the meeting of the council committee on Tuesday evening. “And not just with me, also with the baker, the liquor store, the shoemaker and the bookstore.” Many customers come to the jeweler from outside for repairs to watches and jewelry, for example.
Dorgelo responded as a commenter on the reconstruction plan for the market-port area in the city center. Part of that plan is a reduction in the number of parking spaces on the Markt, from 93 spaces now to 19 spaces later. Dorgelo: “If you want to keep the city center lively, you have to stick to a way to easily park. If customers can no longer do that, they will move to New Amsterdam, Hoogeveen or Hardenberg.”
Harm-Jan Veenstra from the Readshop also has that fear. “Last year, the number of visitors who come to my business to deliver packages to our Post NL point fell by more than 19 percent and since the beginning of this year this has fallen further by more than 25 percent. Will those people soon have to continue lugging their packages? then they will look for another location. It will soon be made more difficult to visit me.” And the entrepreneur says he will notice this in his cash register. “Because it often happens that people, while they are there, just take along a magazine or book.”
Lianne fon Ville of the Mooi hair salon: “If we implement this plan, the city center will become more customer-unfriendly and people will be more inclined to drive to a place nearby that is more accessible.” She herself has not noticed a decline in customers yet. “But I do hear a lot of negative noises and I see people who want to park passing by sweating. Many people consider parking in Coevorden to be almost impossible.” Fon Ville stated that since the redevelopment of the Orphanage Meadow, it is now poorly indicated where people can park. “In addition, I hear on average five times a week from visitors who do not dare to take the slope to the Gansehof. Something must be done about this.”
Councilor Erik Holties (BBC2014) was concerned about the entrepreneurs’ concerns, he said. “I am particularly sorry to hear that these concerns are still being expressed after several consultations.” According to him, the soup is not eaten that hot, because the fewer parking spaces will be partly compensated by expanding the Duivelshoek, a parking lot further along the Oostersingel. “If all plans have been developed further, we will hand over a total of 25 spaces. In addition, a recent parking study from the end of last year indicates that there is still an overcapacity of twenty percent in the city center.”
The councilor took Fon Ville’s point about the unclear parking routes to heart. “Better signage will be our first major challenge. There must be a good system that allows visitors to see much better where they can park.” The possible expansion of blue zones and additional efforts to avoid long-term parking in the center by civil servants, among others, is also a spearhead as far as he is concerned. As well as making it visually easier to drive onto the parking deck at the Gansehof.
In two weeks, the Coevorden municipal council will make a decision on the redevelopment of the market-port area. One appointment has already been made in advance with the entrepreneurs. If a year after the reconstruction it turns out that 19 parking spaces on the Market are really insufficient, then that number can still be increased to a maximum of 38, according to Holties.