An improvised market stall with some chocolate milk, gingerbread nuts and a stereo playing Sinterklaas songs is at the start of the much-discussed cycle path in the Oosterboer in Meppel. A group of opponents is drawing attention to the municipality’s decision to close this cycle path in the future and build a new path next to it. “It is information provision,” says Alice Gouw, one of the initiators.
Pedestrians and cyclists walking along the path try to speak to them about the plans. “The best we can do is inform as many people as possible.” They also sing a specially written protest song, because the group is not happy with the municipality’s decision. They want the cycle path to remain public. But the municipality does not want that.
The cycle path is also a driveway of a detached farm, and that is no longer considered safe. The cycle path belongs to the municipality, the surface belongs to the owner of the farm. She has therefore requested that the cycle path be removed from public view. However, she is waiting to do this until the new path has been constructed.
There are monumental trees on both sides along the current path, it is hardly possible to avoid a car, which, according to the resident, leads to an unsafe situation. The new path will be located between such a row of trees and a ditch. There are two schools on the other side of the ditch. Residents fear that children will cycle into the ditch.
“In my opinion, the municipality has made a completely right decision. This was the only right choice from a formal point of view,” says Alice Jonkeren, the resident of the farm. ” She speaks of a great relief after the municipality’s decision and hopes “that this stuff will end quickly.” That does not seem to be happening.
The opponents say they want to set up information provision in the neighborhood more often. The word lawsuits are also starting to be used more often. This mainly concerns a traffic decision that has yet to be taken, against which it is possible to object. After the new path has been constructed, the municipality will make that decision. The traffic decision states that the road will then be changed into a cycle path. Residents want the decision to be made before the path is constructed.
Local politics is now also concerned with this. GroenLinks recently also asked about this in the council. “Because this situation is sensitive to a large group of residents,” says group leader Anouk de Vlieg. “Is it more logical to wait before constructing the cycle path until objection and appeal options have been used?” According to councilor Klaas de Vries (Sterk Meppel), this is not a logical step. He says that in a traffic decision a road can be designated as a cycle path, or something else, and that you cannot designate something as a cycle path when there is nothing there yet.
The new cycle path is planned to be constructed next year. At the same time as the new cycle path, the adjacent intersection is also being tackled. There are objections to this from the neighborhood.