Deputy Mayor Hilbert Bredemeijer of The Hague says that closing the access roads to Scheveningen on Saturday morning was an exceptional measure. “We do this to set boundaries,” says Bredemeijer. “We are a hospitable seaside resort, but that should not be a license to violate rules willfully.”
The parking garages were full early on. This led to a lot of search traffic in the coastal neighborhoods and annoyance among residents. “By closing the access roads earlier and shutting off traffic towards the coast, we have limited the traffic pressure on the coastal neighborhoods,” said a statement.
Corona
According to Bredemeijer, there were twice as many people on Saturday compared to previous years. “What makes this year different is corona. This year more Dutch people are on holiday in their own country and more tourists from neighboring countries are finding the highway to the coast of The Hague.”
The deputy mayor says the city was reaching the limits of its capacity. For example, 115 traffic controllers and enforcers were deployed. Since Thursday, 150 wheel clamps have been installed and 600 parking fines have been issued.
The closures led to aggression in a number of cases. A traffic warden was hit on the head with a life preserver.
‘Different audience’
Tonight the police on the beach are surveillance for wild campers. “As a municipality, we also use our forest rangers for this. We pull out all the stops,” says Bredemeijer.
He sees that a different audience is coming to The Hague coast. “A public that may not yet be sufficiently familiar with the treacherous currents of the North Sea and with a car accessibility of our coastal strip that has its borders.”
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