The municipality of Eindhoven says that the wall above a bicycle parking facility in the centre of Eindhoven is clearly not a seat. This is in response to an incident on Tuesday night where two young men were seriously injured when they fell off the wall. The municipality says it will look into whether more measures are needed to prevent similar accidents occurring in the future.
The bicycle shed in question is located next to the Heuvel shopping centre in the city centre of Eindhoven.
A spokesperson said, ‘As a municipality we find it terrible that two young people were seriously injured after falling from the wall. We are shocked by this.’
According to the municipality, there has never been an accident on this wall before, so it seems to be a one-off incident.
A popular seat
Students from the nearby Dynamo say that people regularly sit on the wall at the bicycle shed. ‘That happens regularly. For example, smokers from Dynamo use it. There are not many benches around, so it is inviting. Maybe [the municipality] can hang up a sign or offer other seating options,’ says Dynamo student, Fons.
Fons’ fellow students agree on one thing: that sitting on the wall is your own responsibility. ‘I think that people can think for themselves whether the wall is too high. I wouldn’t do it myself,’ says Emily.
The municipality defends that the wall is clearly not a place to sit. ‘The wall is about one and a half metres high, making it difficult to sit on. In addition, the wall is not a flat shape. It is therefore not inviting as a seat because it is sloping. The wall actually aims to protect against falling into the basement.’
Despite this, the municipality has agreed to review the situation and look into whether more measures are needed to make it clear that this is not a place to sit.
Source: Omroep Brabant
Translator: Rachael Vickerman
