The Dutch government announced it will allocate 2 million euros to help improve air quality along Eindhoven’s Binnenring and Mauritsstraat.
Plans to improve air quality are part of a larger project. A total of €10 million is available for projects in several cities.
In these cities, projects to improve air quality are mainly concerned with reducing concentrations of nitrogen oxides (NOx). In agriculture, related projects focus on controlling ‘fijn stof’ small (dust) particles.
Lungs of the City
Eindhoven’s much-discussed project ‘Lungs of the City’ (“Longen van de Stad”) was removed from the National Air Quality Cooperation Program (NSL).
This project aimed at reducing the emission of fine particles and therefore has no effect on the emission of NOx.
Parking company Q-Park always opposed this project. Air was to be extracted from the Stadhuisplein parking garage and filtered.
Q-Park had already opposed this experiment before. It had even to be taken to court. The parking company successfully objected to the inclusion of the project in the NSL.
TNO also criticized the project. It did so in a report which played an important role in the assessment of projects for the NSL.
TNO concluded that the project was to have no effect in controlling NOx. TNO also stated the effect on the emission of small particles remained very uncertain.
Project “Longen van de Stad” is an initiative of the municipality of Eindhoven, TU/e and a number of companies.
It is unclear whether the participants will continue with this project, now that financial support from the Dutch government has been withdrawn. The experiment will be completed shortly.
Binnenring
The 2 million euro which Eindhoven municipality will receive, will be used to implement permanent measures within Eindhoven’s inner ring; the ‘binnenring‘.
Last year, a ‘cut’ was made along the Vestdijk to ensure through traffic takes a different route.
Similar measures will be taken along the Mauritsstraat.
Source: Studio 040
Translator: Kate
