A large majority of the Amstelveen municipal council approved the zoning plan for the new De Scheg-West district last night. This indirectly means that the nightmare of residents of neighboring Westwijk will come true: the access road to a large part of the new neighborhood (De Scheg-West and -Midden) will in the future run through their neighborhood.
The municipality has decided that to open up the district, the existing Hammarskjöldsingel must be extended to Weldam. As a result, traffic to and from De Scheg-West and -Midden will be routed through Westwijk via those two roads in the future. Action group Unlock Scheg Anders (OSA) is afraid that the traffic pressure in their neighborhood will become too great due to this traffic plan.
“I no longer dare to let my children cycle to school,” a concerned mother addressed the council during a consultation opportunity. In addition, there is the fear that too much greenery in the neighborhood will disappear with the construction of a new road.
“Our only option: the additional access to the Legmeerdijk, is now in jeopardy”
The extension of the Hammarskjöldsingel was in principle not yet on the table last night. This will only be discussed when the zoning plan for De Scheg-Midden is discussed. But with yesterday’s decision, the alternative access to De Scheg that local residents had in mind has been swept off the table. “We don’t feel heard,” Alexa Roest of the action group told NH afterwards. “Our only option: the additional access to the Legmeerdijk, is therefore in jeopardy.”
Because that is the action group’s dream traffic plan. According to them, additional access to this provincial road will prevent important traffic bottlenecks in Westwijk from becoming too busy. “Jane Addamslaan will be very busy,” Alexa gives an example. “Especially at schools. Road safety is really at stake there.”
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Local residents would therefore prefer to see the district only accessible at two points via the Legmeerdijk. The Mayor & Aldermen therefore commissioned the Goudappel consultancy firm to investigate this option announced earlier this week to stick to her own plan.
As a final cry for help, the group sent an urgent letter to all municipal council members prior to yesterday’s council meeting. The appendix contained a counter-research, which the residents had carried out because they found the figures that Goudappel came up with unbelievable. That counter-research was carried out by consultancy firm Sweco. The agency warns the municipality that traffic pressure on both De Scheg and Westwijk will increase, because through traffic will use the new access road as a shortcut.
Council of State
The persistent pleas from local residents initially seemed to have an effect last night. Political party Actief voor Amstelveen submitted a motion to have an additional road safety analysis carried out and to consider additional access to the Legmeerdijk. However, when Councilor for Spatial Planning Floor Gordon promised to continue to closely monitor the traffic situation in and around De Scheg in the coming years, this motion was withdrawn.
According to Alexa, local residents do not intend to accept the municipal council’s decision. “We will continue to the Council of State and hope that we get a good judge,” she says hopefully.
De Scheg-West covers the largest part of the new De Scheg district. A maximum of 800 homes should be built here, of which 50 mid-priced rental apartments in the low segment and 135 ground-level private sector rental homes. The other homes are owner-occupied homes in the form of terraced houses, semi-detached houses and detached houses. There will also be a school and childcare in De Scheg-West.