Haarlem residents Wim Kleist and Frans de Goede presented the signatures for the parking referendum to Mayor Jos Wienen on Thursday evening after the municipal council meeting. There are now more than 7,400. The municipality wants to introduce paid parking in another eleven neighborhoods in the city, but that decision is leading to a lot of resistance.
The applicants for the referendum on introducing regulated parking in Haarlem had to collect 4,000 signatures in six weeks. With the help of Edwin Vermaire from the Facebook group Haarlem Paid Parking, this was achieved in no time.
The three were sitting in the public gallery of the council chamber waiting for the end of the budget meeting. This went well: the almost 40 motions submitted were quickly put to the vote and a majority of the council adopted the budget for next year.
Before the council members could enjoy drinks and then dinner in the Gravenzaal of the town hall, Kleist, De Goede and Vermaire took advantage of the moment to officially present the signatures to Mayor Jos Wienen.
“If they do it on June 6, 2024, they will save a lot of money”
“More than enough signatures, so that referendum will happen, period,” says a satisfied Edwin Vermaire. “The moment with the mayor was short, but powerful,” adds Wim Kleist. “I think a lot of Haarlem residents are awake and will stay awake and will soon vote on the parking policy.”
But when?
Now that the signatures have been officially handed over, the next exciting moment begins: the choice of the date to hold the referendum. Frans de Goede: “We are going for June 6, but it depends on the municipal council.” The European elections will also be held on June 6. Then the costs for setting up polling stations and the like have already been incurred.
But it seems that the coalition parties want to hold the referendum earlier: as early as March 2024. Vermaire: “Those parties previously did not want a referendum at all, because they think it is a waste of money. Well, let’s see: they do it on June 6, they will save a lot of money.”
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It is now the Haarlem city council’s turn again: it must determine the final date for the referendum on parking policy on November 30. The result is only valid if the turnout percentage is above thirty percent. By the way, it’s about one advisory referendum, the municipality can ignore the result.
“If that happens, there will be war in Haarlem,” predicts another supporter of the referendum: Ruud Kuin of the SP. He does not mind if the referendum is held earlier than the European elections. “That can also be an advantage for us. A special audience comes to the European elections.”