Kruisstraat in Oud-Woensel will be tackled to improve traffic safety. Seventy parking spaces will be sacrificed for this purpose. Entrepreneurs in the neighbourhood are not happy with it.
Last Monday the work began. The angled parking spaces ensure that cyclists are often almost run over when cars drive off. By placing the parking spaces parallel to the road the traffic situation should become safer. But to make room for this, a lot of parking spaces will disappear.
Loss of customers
Entrepreneur Nicole Raymakers of Nicky’s Lingerie fears that the accessibility of many businesses will suffer as a result of the adjustments. “If you have to drive further to park here and therefore have to walk longer to get to our shops, this will also lead to a loss of customers. Not nice for our customers, who often come from far away”. A colleague adds, “If people need two boxes of wine, it is not practical if they have to walk a long way”, Patricia van der Heijden, who owns an off-licence on Kruisstraat, says. “It is a pity that the entrepreneurs are the victims of the traffic situation”, she thinks.
Apart from a loss of parking spaces, parking on Kruisstraat itself will also become more expensive and there will be a ban on standing still. It will therefore no longer be possible to quickly park the car and get something.
More greenery
The extra space provided by the straight parking spaces will be used for more greenery and terraces. The cyclists in the neighbourhood are pleased that the street is finally becoming safer. “I hardly dare cycle here, often I take a diversion”, an elderly woman says. “You just get driven onto the pavement with your bike here”. Another passer-by is also pleased with the changes. “I think it makes the street a much friendlier place for cyclists and pedestrians”, he says. “And it’s a really nice street, so that extra greenery just adds to it”.
The adjustments are expected to be completed by 4 May. The municipality promises to evaluate the expected effects of the adjustments over time.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Bob
