Residents of Bosweg in ‘t Zand are fed up. There is structural speeding and after two more serious accidents this year, the residents want the municipality to intervene. “It is emotionally too heavy for residents to bear this burden and we don’t want to experience this again.”
Bosweg ‘t Zand – NH News / Jurgen van den Bos
Maaike Vonderbank of the Bosweg has stepped up to tackle the safety of the polder road. The daughter of neighbors down the road fell into a coma early this year after being hit from behind at high speed. Vonderbank: “The umpteenth accident. The Bosweg is a long straight road that invites motorists to drive fast. For years we have been asking for measures that remove speed.”
Idiot
Also on other polder roads such as the Belkmerweg between Burgervlotbrug and Sint Maartensvlotbrug and along the Grote Sloot, residents often measure speeds of more than 80 kilometers per hour. It is a big problem for the municipality of Schagen, says alderman Hans Heddes: “If you normally drive 60, then they are not dangerous roads, but if you drive like an idiot on such a road, it is a dangerous road. even measured 100.”
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The municipality of Schagen is in talks with residents to take measures. Speed bumps and possibly traffic locks with movable poles are being considered. Heddes: “We cannot do this for every polder road or close roads, that is almost impossible. We are in a large bulb area and tractors and trucks must be able to pass.”
‘Individual action’
Residents of the polder roads in the bulb area often complain about staff from agricultural employment agencies who drive too fast. Koen van Diepen, director of employment agency Mondial on Bosweg, also shares this concern. He reminds his staff of the traffic rules every day before they are given a car. “We are on top of it. We have lost a family member on the Bosweg due to a traffic accident. It remains individual actions by drivers. Our cars have speed limiters and we can follow everyone.”
The municipality of Schagen has now taken temporary measures to warn motorists that they are not allowed to go faster than 60 kilometers per hour. At Bosweg there are also signs that the road is only accessible to local traffic. Resident Maaike Vonderbank hopes for more structural solutions: “We want quieter traffic to drive through the road. We need extra measures for that. And certainly not more accidents on the road. We don’t want to experience that again.”
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