A series of accidents at the intersection of Aalsmeerderweg and Bennebroekerweg in Rijsenhout has given traffic alderman Marja Ruigrok something to think about. Today she talked to victim Esmee Lanser and her mother Lydia.
Eighteen-year-old Esmee was born at the crossroads a year ago ridden by a car from her scooter. She was seriously injured and is still confronted daily with the consequences of the accident, she previously told the NH Nieuws camera. “Poor focus, bad vision, bad memory. I actually have trouble with everything that takes your brain to do.”
That is why Esmee now has a mission: the ‘dangerous’ intersection must be adapted, so that motorists are forced to reduce their speed. Today she is heard by the alderman. “The municipality listened to our opinion and ideas [red. over de inrichting van het kruispunt]so I think that’s positive,” she says after the conversation.
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Notorious Rijsenhout intersection ‘not yet safe enough’ – NH Nieuws
‘Not enough’
In the run-up to today, the municipality has already decided that a number of adjustments will be made to the intersection. In concrete terms, three physical elements will be adapted: ‘pedestrian crossingability’ will be improved, lightning bolt markings will be applied to the road surface and LED lights will be installed in the yellow background of the priority signs.
Esmee and Lydia are afraid this won’t be enough. Jabbeke de Vries, who lives at the infamous intersection and regularly has to get the proverbial blood from under her nails after she has once again provided first aid, joins the conversation. She is on vacation, but wants to let them know via video calls that she thinks the same as the victim and her mother.
Jabbeke urges the alderman to do more than is currently planned. “With every blow I hear, I think: ‘what do I find?'”, she previously told the NH Nieuws camera. The woman is even considering moving. Mother Lydia also wants to make it clear how serious the situation is: “We really have to wait for the first deaths”, she bites Ruigrok.
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Rijsenhout intersection is life-threatening: “Too high speeds, often a good hit” – NH Nieuws
It promises to include the input of the Rijsenhouters in a plan for long-term safety measures. “We will see if we can add speed limiting measures.”
“If I finally saw that things are going well again, maybe I would go over it again”
But what do Esmee, Lydia and Jabbeke think is the solution? They propose several measures: replacing the stop signs that used to be there, thresholds, a 30 kilometer zone or a traffic light. Traffic experts who advise the municipality do not think all these solutions are a good idea, explains Ruigrok. She will, however, investigate the possibility of installing a traffic light. That process takes about two years.
Until then, Esmee will no longer be talking about the crossroads, but the conversation does give her confidence for the future. “If I finally saw that things are going well again, maybe I would go over it again.”