Does the shovel go into the ground or not? September 12 is an important date for 26 households in Meppel. They live near the Ringpark in the Oosterboer district. The municipality wants to build a pump track there, but residents will make every effort in the coming weeks to encounter that construction. “There’s a drop of asphalt coming here.”
A pump track is a kind of skate park for cross bikes, rollerblades and scooters. A kind of asphalt course with bumps and holes. This was a great wish of two 10-year-old residents of Meppel and they brought this to the city council. He immediately agreed.
Too fast, say local residents. They say that they have not been included in this entire process and feel overwhelmed by the building plans ‘in the backyard’. The 26 households therefore came to town hall last night to object and defend this before the objections committee.
Local residents expect a large crowd on the road and with it noise, traffic and waste nuisance. “Who tells me that scooters are not driven on the track here in the evening? And enforcement employees are already too few, they are not going to check this”, said one of the residents. Also, according to residents, far too little research has been done into the consequences of a pumptrack track for the surrounding nature.
According to the residents, the municipality does not have to abandon the plan. They propose a move to another place in the park, further away from the houses. According to the residents, this has an additional advantage: this is now a tiled square. The pumptrack track would replace pavement here. At the location where the track is now drawn, it will be on the site of shrubs and grass. In this way, the residents want to keep the Ringpark greener.
To the disappointment of the objectors, the municipality is not very impressed by the objection. A legal adviser spoke. He says that the municipality can build a playground in every park, and that the pumptrack track falls under this. With this most objections would have been brushed aside: there is no doubt on the part of the municipality. Therefore, no further research was deemed necessary.
The municipality wants to build as soon as possible. “The building materials are becoming more and more expensive. We do not want to run the risk that this project turns out to be more expensive,” said the consultant. “The city council has decided to do this and we as a municipality will simply implement it here.”
To prevent the construction work from 12 September, the residents are going to fight a legal battle. “If there is one drop of asphalt, it is too late,” said one of the residents afterwards. “With the help of a good lawyer, we will prevent that.”
The municipality has struck a wrong chord with the residents. “Today it becomes clear that the rising price of asphalt is more important than the feeling of the resident,” another resident sighed after the session.