A new cycle path keeps people busy in Sittard. A contractor has started construction along Leyenbroekerweg, but a large tree stands in the way.
The work has been temporarily suspended. A passerby walking her dachshund thinks it’s a strange story. “I pass by here regularly and already thought: this is not going well.”
Tree must stay
Neighbor Hans Eising also sees it with sorrow. He is busy in his garden and looks out on the large tree that is now in the way of the bike path. “I don’t understand why the contractor didn’t stretch a line. Then you see that the tree is there. What should be done now? I think around it, but the tree may not go away.”
Second bike path
It is also remarkable that there is already a bicycle path with a sidewalk a few meters next to the planned new cycle path. The usefulness and necessity of the new cycle path is therefore a question mark at all. According to a spokesperson for the municipality, the tree will not give way to the path that is intended to open up the new residential area and the adjacent school.
Twelve year old plan
Its construction has been agreed in the construction plans that are already twelve years old. After the agreement, the project was halted for a long time and lawsuits were conducted between the municipality and the developer about the construction. The judge recently issued a ruling ordering the contractor to start work on the public space after all. That happened without checking whether those plans are still completely up to date.
Tree not on drawing
The municipal spokesperson acknowledges that the tree is not correctly registered on the construction drawing. With the current stalemate as a result. In the near future, the municipality and contractor will sit down together to find a solution. “The tree will not go away, so the path must be adapted. Now the question is whether a bicycle path is still needed to open up the area. A footpath may be sufficient,” said the spokesperson. “Within a few weeks we hope to have a solution that everyone is happy with.”