Kleine Berg becomes car-free. Now cars still drive through the characteristic shopping and catering street. A large majority of the city council decided on Tuesday evening to put an end to this.
At the initiative of Eindhoven parties PvdA (labour party), GroenLinks (green left party), Volt, Ouderen Appèl (elderly appeal), D66 (democrats) and Partij voor de Dieren (party for the animals), there will be a ban on car traffic on Kleine Berg. 27 Council members agreed to their proposal on Tuesday evening and 14 politicians opposed it.
No cars or parking spaces
This not only means that soon no cars will be able to drive through the street and only pedestrians and cyclists will be allowed but the parking spaces are also disappearing. However, a small group of residents should still be able to get a permit to park their car. There must also be room for entrepreneurs to load and unload.
Experience and sense of security
According to the proponents, the traffic situation on Kleine Berg is now unsafe for pedestrians, cyclists and residents. Allowing car traffic also ‘detracts from the experience of the street and the feeling of safety’, according to the groups. They therefore believe that Kleine Berg should only become a place for cyclists and pedestrians.
Criticism
CDA (Christian democrats), VVD (people’s party for freedom and democracy), 50Plus, LPF (list Pim Fortuyn) and Forum voor Democratie (forum for democracy) are against the plan. There were previously discussions between the municipality, residents and entrepreneurs about, among other things, the position of the car on Kleine Berg. The parties think it is a bad idea to ‘overrule’ that process now. “This is not chic for the neighbourhood”, VVD fraction leader, Lex Janssen, said. “I doubt whether there is enough support from the citizens. This decision undermines confidence in the municipality and politics”, Nicolas Knoester, of Forum voor Democratie, said.
Councilor Monique Esselbrugge (Binnenstad), (inner city), left the initiative to the municipal council. “We are now looking at how this fits in with the plans for the redevelopment of Kleine Berg. We also look at how these wishes can be accommodated financially in the future.”
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Bob
