GroenLinks wants tram transport in Eindhoven. The coalition party thinks it is a good addition to the plans to develop an underground bus station and a bus lane to Veldhoven. “We have to prevent the next generation from getting into trouble.”
A new underground bus station and a fast bus connection with chip machine manufacturer ASML in Veldhoven have been on the wish list of the region for some time. The national government and the region have made many hundreds of millions available for this.
The installation of tram stations and lines is being overlooked, says the largest coalition party in Eindhoven GroenLinks. Council member Rutger Rauws cites the housing expansions and the increase in public transport travellers as the reason. “Now that there is a plan to build more homes in the centre and the neighborhoods, and more ASML employees use public transport, it is a logical solution. Otherwise, one bus per minute would have to be needed to maintain that.”
Issues
In the long term, the municipality is shooting itself in the foot, says Rauws. “We have to look even further ahead than the plans that are currently there.” It could cost the municipality a lot of money, he says. “In this way you run the risk of running too few buses, and you don’t want to open up the ground again.”
Innovation
Monique Esselbrugge, alderman for Mobility, has her doubts about tram transport. “We have been commissioned to make a future-proof design. The question is whether the tram is that innovative. There may be room for a tram, but it is of course a bus station,” she said to the city council on Tuesday evening. “We cannot anticipate means of transport that we are not yet familiar with”, responded alderman Stijn Steenbakkers. “But the question is justified. We don’t want to be locked into one solution.”
According to Rauws, innovation should not predominate in the proposal. “We should not make choices waiting for innovation. Trams are practical, sustainable and reliable. We must prevent the next generation from getting into trouble.” For GroenLinks there is in any case ‘no doubt about it’, says the council member. “In our opinion, the question is not whether there will be a tram line, but when.”
Source: Studio040
For Eindhoven News: Lila Mehrez
