The shovel went into the ground on the Boschdijk on Wednesday. To give plants a second life, but mainly as the official starting shot of the renovation of the busy Eindhoven road. And that the Boschdijk is going to be renovated is not without reason. “I think every Eindhovenian knows the road as a place where it is unsafe and traffic is fast,” said the company.
For neighborhood resident Bernice Kamphuis, it’s a stroke of luck that the road is finally going up. For years, she has been fighting for a safer Boschdijk. That’s because she has witnessed several near-collisions since she moved there in 2014.
“The final straw was when I was pregnant with my baby daughter in 2016,” she looks back on that particular day. “Then I crossed the street and almost got hit. And then I was so fed up. I wanted so badly to be able to cross in a normal way to go to the supermarket.”
Took the plunge
So Bernice took the plunge and convinced the municipality, in part with a petition campaign, that something really needed to be done. That job is now underway. Wednesday morning Alderperson Rik Thijs gave the starting shot for the redesign of the Boschdijk. With an excavator he pulled the first plants out of the ground.
“Normally, as an alderperson, it would not be a good sign if I took greenery out of the city,” he says with a smile on his face. “But twice as much greenery is coming back here, so we can deal with water flooding and there will be more biodiversity, making it much more pleasant for people and animals.”
Biking to city hall
The alderperson is not only looking at the situation from his political portfolio. After all, he cycles along the Boschdijk on his way to City Hall every day. And that, according to him, is not devoid of dangers. “In some places it is really unsafe. Especially around the crossings.”
So, like the neighborhood, he’s glad the Boschdijk is finally getting a makeover. “I think every Eindhoven resident knows the road as a place where it is unsafe and fast.”
So now that will change. In the future, cyclists and cars will no longer drive right next to each other on the road where the maximum speed limit is fifty kilometers per hour.
In my garden
The first step towards a renewed Boschdijk was taken Wednesday morning with the help of local residents. They removed plants from the median strip and are giving the greenery a new purpose. “I’ll put them in my garden,” said one participant busy with a shovel.
The redesign of the Boschdijk is expected to take a year. The road is now partially closed. Traffic is being diverted.
Source: Studio040
For Eindhoven News: Lila Mehrez
