A resident of Jos van Aalderenlaan in Hoogeveen is fed up. Parked cars block the view of the road and, according to him, this creates dangerous situations. That is why he goes to the highest administrative court, the Council of State.
During that meeting tomorrow he will address the municipality with the request to start enforcement. According to the resident, the cars are not allowed to be parked where they are now.
This is a strip between the cycle path and the road. Residents first drive along the cycle path from their driveway, then across an intermediate surface and only then onto the street. Parked cars cause poor visibility at the intersection when turning onto the road, the resident says.
“When I first reported the situation to the municipality, enforcement was in place for a short time. Then it quickly stopped. The municipality stated that enforcement could not take place, but there was no explanation as to why this was not possible,” says the resident, who wishes to remain anonymous.
Every time he knocked on Hoogeveen’s door to have something done about the situation, he was not appreciated, he says. “It often happened that I was yelled at or verbally abused by an enforcer.”
The resident thinks that it is possible and relies on an article in the traffic law. “It states that parking at these types of intersections is a punishable offense.” Whether the Council of State thinks the same about this remains to be seen tomorrow.
According to a spokesperson for Hoogeveen, an enforcement request was indeed submitted in 2023 about the parking situation at Jos van Aalderenlaan. “The municipality assessed that request at the time and made a decision within the applicable period. It is therefore not correct that the municipality did nothing with the request.”
The request has been rejected, the spokesperson emphasizes. “The municipality itself is not allowed to take action against these parking or traffic violations through an administrative measure. If traffic rules are violated, it is up to the police or special enforcement officers (boas) to enforce them.
The resident disagrees. The case has already been dealt with in court, following the municipality’s position. The man now hopes for a different result on appeal to the Council of State.
