It will not be easy and fast, but the municipal council of Aa en Hunze nevertheless wants the municipality to continue to do its best for the construction of a bicycle path between Eexterveen and Spijkerboor. Even if some trees have to be cut for that.
Residents and the municipality are both not getting much further with the lingering file and a solution does not seem to be in sight in 2022 either. The municipality has to buy land from private individuals, but cannot reach an agreement with one of the land owners. One third of the cycle path cannot be constructed without an agreement.
Search for solutions
Although negotiations with the landowner are tight, many parties at tonight’s council meeting expressed the hope that there will eventually be a bicycle path connecting the villages. If it is up to councilor Rabbe Vedder of Combination Municipal Interests, then the bicycle path will be built on land that can be bought by the municipality.
There is little room on either side of the school route to build a bicycle path in the municipal verge. This is partly due to the fact that there are tall trees close to the road. Tree felling is often a taboo subject in Aa and Hunze, but for councilor Henk Santes (PvdA) it is best discussed in this case. The CDA and the VVD are also eager to talk about this.
‘Don’t sell a meter’
Part of the council hopes that residents of Spijkerboor and the Annervenen or the municipality will make another attempt to convince the refusing landowner to sell some land. A difficult matter, according to alderman Henk Heijerman (CGB). “If a landowner says he doesn’t want to sell a meter, it doesn’t matter who you send it. Even if you let the king or the prime minister go.”
However, the alderman is positive about the advice of the councilors to look for a solution. An alternative cycle path along the Hunze River would be wonderful, as far as Heijerman is concerned, also with regard to recreational cyclists. A plan that was put forward a few years ago by the CDA. However, not all residents are eager for this, for fear for the safety of children who have to cycle along the water.
According to the college of mayor and aldermen, there will soon be a meeting between the alderman and Dorpsbelangen Spijkerboor/Annerveen. Heijerman: “Together with the village association, we will look in the area where there are still opportunities. Unfortunately, that cannot be arranged within two weeks.”
Difficult bike path
Since the closure of the primary school in Nieuw-Annerveen in 2015, some of the children from Spijkerboor, Oud-Annerveen and Nieuw-Annerveen go to school in the neighboring village of Eexterveen. To get to that village, the children have to take the Hunzeweg: a tight, winding 60-kilometer road that they have to share with trucks and agricultural vehicles.
The verges of the municipality are often too narrow for the construction of a bicycle path and, moreover, in a number of places trees and houses are close to the road. Aa en Hunze therefore needs land from farmers around the Hunzeweg to be able to build a decent cycle path. The municipality has been trying to buy land from four private landowners along the school route for some time now. Three of them want to cooperate, but a fourth indicates that they do not want to sell their land under any circumstances.
The case has been going on for more than six years now and a quick solution to the problem is not yet in sight. For the short term, Aa and Hunze propose to buy a school bus. The villages then have to arrange a driver and a driving schedule to Eexterveen themselves.