Soon it will be possible to drive through the centre of Eindhoven on Vestdijk again.
The City Council has decided to remove the knip (cut) at the end of Ten Hagestraat from the design. The Vestdijk / Ten Hagestraat / Kanaalstraat intersection was to be cropped. Independent research indicates that, based on predictions, it should be possible to meet the EU’s air quality standards, without this ‘cut’.
By changing cars, there being less traffic due to the narrowing from two lanes to one, and a maximum speed of 30km/h, it seems that, in 2020, the concentration of nitrogen dioxide might drop below the limit value.
In 2025, a car-free inner city
Vestdijk was first to be partly closed to car traffic, for better air quality and a car-free inner city. That measure has now been reversed by the new City Council. There is going to be an integral ‘Development Plan Centre’ in place before the end of the year. In this, 2025 is indicated as the year in which the Eindhoven City Centre will become accessible to just residents-only traffic.
In 2021, the Dutch Organisation for Applied Scientific Research will again do research into air quality on Vestdijk. The research institute indicated that there is a ‘strong likelihood’ that the air quality will not have improved enough, because cars, for example, will not become greener quickly enough. Should that new research show that the air quality is still not good enough, the knip might still be realised.
The City Council stresses that Vestdijk will still become an ‘attractive, green, city boulevard’, even without this knip. It must be a street with plenty of room for pedestrians and cyclists, one in which visitors to Eindhoven would like to linger.
Source: www.studio040.nl
Translated by: Bob
Edited by: Melinda
