Wiedemeijer does not intend to push through the parking bill in the municipal council. “Many Haarlem residents are against this plan, there is too little support for it. We are now going to think about how we can improve the quality of life in the neighborhoods with a different plan,” he explains. “The measures that are necessary will always hurt the people of Haarlem, but we have to get to work.”
Ron Dreijer of coalition party CDA is surprised by the high turnout. “We did not expect this turnout. The negative vote did. It is still too early to say how we should proceed. You cannot ignore this result.”
Spicy discussions
Action Party leader Danny van Leeuwen anticipates spicy political discussions in the coming weeks. “The result is solid, it doesn’t lie. We understand the concerns of the people of Haarlem, but we do not yet know exactly which parts of the policy they voted against. We still have to see how the votes were cast per district.”
According to Van Leeuwen, the parking problems in the city must be tackled in any case: “The city council must now come up with solutions to the problems the city has. The referendum has not suddenly made Haarlem much bigger. We are not going to push through this package of measures, but One way or another, we have to figure it out together.”