The municipality of Eindhoven wants a different color of asphalt than the current black asphalt when redesigning the city centre. The asphalt already laid on Stratumseind causes too much heat.
The redevelopment should give the inner city a unified appearance. Therefore, the red tiles will be replaced by a pavement-street-pavement pattern with tiling on both sides and asphalt in the middle.
One degree warmer
Research by the municipality shows that the temperature in a street where asphalt is installed can warm up to 1 degree Celsius. In general, this is not a bad thing, because by placing trees and adding shade, the temperature can actually be lowered to 13 degrees Celcius.
However, this is not possible everywhere. Therefore, the municipality will investigate whether a different type of asphalt with a different color can cause less heat. Earlier, the municipality announced that a new asphalt color was being considered for the Kleine Berg.
Change of course
So with that, there may be a major change in direction. The asphalt will not only be on the Kleine Berg but also on the Demer, the Rechtestraat, and the Hooghuisstraat. It will determine the face of the Eindhoven city center. What colors are being considered, the municipality could not yet say.
What the implications of the possible change in plans for planning the redevelopment also remain to be investigated. Any financial consequences are not clear either. The current asphalt on the Stratumseind will remain as usual, the municipality has announced.
Cost increase
What is clear is that the redevelopment project for the city centre is running up considerably in costs. Due to rising construction costs, inflation, and the complexity of the project – in which many different construction activities must be coordinated with each other – the college announced in July that an additional 3.4 million euros had to be released to cover the costs.
This compared to the additional money that had to be released in 2021 as well. That amounted to some 4.6 million euros, out of the total budget of 17.7 million euros set aside for the redevelopment project in the municipal budget in 2019.
Source: Studio 040
Translated by: Chaitali Sengupta
