As of today, the bridges over the Brouwersgracht, Blauwburgwal and Prinsengracht will be closed with dozens of posts to prevent cut-through traffic in the Western Canal Belt. The experiment, which is intended to make short work of through traffic in the coming year, is causing mixed reactions.
“This is already the third round I have driven here,” a taxi driver responds irritated. He says he doesn’t know how to get out of the neighborhood and is therefore far from the only one. This Monday morning it is clearly causing irritation among taxi drivers, parcel deliverers and drivers of trucks that supply the catering industry.
“I don’t know where to go,” said an RMC driver who has to take a man with a disability. “We’re going straight, but I’m not allowed in there. I don’t know either.”
Near the Oranjebrug, a garbage truck driver gets stuck: “We really can’t get through here. Everything is closed.” He sees no other way than to drive against traffic.
The closures mean that motorists, including local residents, have to take significant detours in some cases. For example, if Ria, who has difficulty walking, wants to do an errand on the Haarlemmerdijk from her house on the Prinsengracht in her car, she will now have to take a detour via the Rozengracht and the Marnixstraat. The journey of a few minutes can therefore take fifteen minutes longer.
The emergency services also have to take a detour or remove the posts from the ground one by one with a wrench. Firefighters discovered during a test this morning that this takes quite a bit of work. A fire brigade spokesperson said that they have no immediate concerns yet and are monitoring the situation, but that they would rather not see the measure, because in an emergency situation every second counts. According to the fire brigade, the test can be stopped if it causes major problems.
Judith Hulleman
Opinions are more divided among residents. “Great, I was really looking forward to it and all of us as residents. Because all those cars drove us crazy,” said one of them.
Another is less positive: “Residents also have to take a detour, so why this test is not done with retractable posts is a mystery to me.”
To evaluate
This is a one-year trial. The situation is monitored and evaluated by the municipality. The city council is informed every 3 months about the accessibility of emergency and emergency services.
After the experiment, it will be examined whether a system with retractable poles or cameras is possible in the future.
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2023-10-16 16:21:01
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