The mayor and aldermen of Haarlem are asking the city council for another 20 million euros for extra parking facilities in the city. More than half of that amount is intended for a municipal parking garage in Haarlem-Noord. Haarlem is trying to tackle the parking nuisance in the city by introducing paid parking in eleven districts. But that is not enough: parking spaces simply need to be added.
Because there is a major shortage of parking spaces in the Indischewijk in Noord, the municipality wants to build a parking garage on the former Sonneborn site on Spaarndamseweg. There will be 190 parking spaces in this municipal garage, which are intended for local residents.
Project developer VORM is building new homes on the site where petrochemical company Sonneborn (formerly Witco) was located until 2011. Many Haarlemmers still remember the large piles of oil drums at the company. More than 150 new homes, a family shelter and office space will be built on the site.
The municipality says that after consultation with the project developer, a plan has been made to include extra parking space in the new building. The neighborhood can make good use of those extra spaces: the parking pressure in the Indischewijk is around 130 percent. There are almost 1,500 more cars than there are parking spaces.
Drop on the hot plate?
The 190 places on the Sonneborn site therefore seem like a drop in the ocean, but the Board sees it as a step in the right direction. The municipality also wants to park on its own property, encourage the use of shared cars and public parking garages in the district.
It’s not all cheap. The costs for the municipal garage on the Sonneborn site are provisionally estimated at 12 million euros. That is 63,000 euros per parking space. And it’s a first rough estimate. The design of the parking garage has not yet been made, so it is to be expected that the project will ultimately be a lot more expensive.
The council’s proposal will now first be presented to the city council. She is asking for a total of 20 million euros for two large parking facilities. That leaves 8 million for the second. It is not yet known where the second parking garage will be located.