“We have about 4,000 school-aged children here in Krommenie at five schools positioned around the N203. Even though air pollution has been present here for years,” says Rob Karst, resident of Krommenie and former councilor of the municipality of Zaanstad. He now speaks for various resident groups from Zaanstad-Noord.
He thinks that proper measurements should be taken, and so do many other residents. Why did that take so long? “Political unwillingness. Yes, I can’t think of any other words for that.”
He continues: “When I was a municipal councilor in 2020, we already submitted a motion in Zaanstad to have a measuring station here at the Provincialeweg. It was unanimously adopted by the council members. The province did not want to cooperate at the time, but now we have the commitment at last.”
Improve quality of life
Karst sees this as a first step: if after the period in which measurements are taken it turns out that the values are too high, the province must do something. “The connection between the A8 and A9 is on our list of priorities, but that is really something for the future. Until then, we are trying to improve the quality of life in the two villages of Assendelft and Krommenie in feasible steps.”