Zaandam has its own elections: residents can vote on neighborhood plans

Housing association Parteon has made 20,000 euros available, which will be divided among the winning plans. There are six in total. Via the website www.residentaanzet.nl residents can vote. There was a similar campaign last year and, according to Parteon, it was well received, which is why people can now vote on other plans again.

Hilda Kuiters has lived in Poelenburg for 17 years and is happy that she can stand up for the neighborhood children. She lives in an apartment on Wachterstraat and the football cage in front of her door is fine, except for the fences around it. They are high behind the goal, but not on the sides. And there is a row of cars parked there about eight meters away.

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“There are often enough angry drivers,” she says. “Dents and scratches, it’s happened more than once.” She doesn’t have a car herself, “But if I had one, I wouldn’t park it here. Especially when it’s very busy here. It’s a lot of fun here and the children are often very happy here, but they also want to the football field will be closed, so that the ball no longer ends up on the road and the residents are no longer inconvenienced by it.”

Garden shed

At the time of writing this article, not many votes have been cast on the various plans. Hilda received ‘only’ 45 votes. The plan to build a garden shed in the community garden in Poelenburg is currently receiving more attention with 118 votes.

Sadegül Güneş believes that there is still room for improvement. She is completely enthralled by the action. “National elections are exciting, but this is even more exciting. This is about your own neighborhood, your own neighborhood garden.”

Why does that garden shed need to be built? “Well, it’s not always dry in the Netherlands,” she says with a sense of understatement. Then, seriously: “We would like a garden shed with a toilet and a kitchen where we can cook. We want to prepare what we harvest here in the kitchen. And then have conversations together at the table and have a barbecue when the weather is nice. “

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She loves the community garden, that’s clear. “For me as a city dweller, this is something magical. I have a grandchild, who likes it here even more than I do. We enjoy ourselves here a lot. Children also need to know that the vegetables do not just come from the supermarket.”

The other plans that can be voted on are: here can be viewed and voted until November 30. The results will be announced on December 11.