Eindhoven city council is opting not to use asphalt in the redevelopment of the city centre. In the new streetscape, the central strip was to consist of asphalt, but after an evaluation of the Stratumseind, this turns out not to be the best choice after all. And so Alderman Rik Thijs made adjustments.
“Back in 2019, we made a well-considered choice, but now we have to choose something else. We are still early, only a fiftieth of the entire city centre has been done,” said the alderman.
On Stratumseind and Kleine Berg, asphalt is already used. The rest of the inner city has yet to be taken care of. It was already known that the current asphalt on Kleine Berg was going to be replaced because the asphalt had to be given a different colour. But the municipality is now abandoning this idea: the asphalt will be replaced with stone.
When this will happen is not yet known. The alderman will first discuss the matter with residents and business owners of the Kleine Berg. In addition, it seems logical that the Stratumseind will also be stripped of its asphalt, but the alderman could not confirm whether this is the case.
Road safety
“The disadvantages of asphalt remain the subject of discussion,” said the councillor in charge. An important aspect that emerged in the review is road safety. “The asphalt invites fatbikes and other bikes to use, though it is a pedestrian area during the day,” he said.
The municipality also commissioned research into ways to make the asphalt less susceptible to the effects of heat. However, like the evaluation, this showed that an alternative to the asphalt is a better idea. How much money the miscalculation will cost the municipality is not yet known.
Grey-Brown Bricks
The alternative will be the baked paving stones. A grey-brown stone came out best in the test. Different materials were tested for the central strip. These were judged on heat stress, durability, comfort, skid resistance, wear resistance and cleaning and cost. “By choosing this stone, we also comply with the criteria set at the time: that the new paving for our city centre should be lively, of good quality and have an Eindhoven character. We expect this choice to lead to lower costs.”
Source: Studio040
