City Council Decides to Build Two Traffic Interchanges in Adegeest

In early 2024, the city council approved the final design for the redevelopment of the Adegeest neighborhood. The design included two changes: Chopinlaan and Berliozlaan would be closed to motorized traffic to make room for two new bike paths. The city had to issue a traffic order for those bike paths.

Objections

The traffic decision was followed by three appeals, based in part on the grounds that there had been insufficient public participation. One of the appeals was co-signed by a large group of residents. The municipal executive declared the appeals unfounded because it believed that a comprehensive public participation process had taken place in which all residents could participate.

A number of residents filed an appeal against the “decision on the objection.” This appeal was heard by the court in The Hague on April 15. The judge ruled that the traffic decision was not sufficiently substantiated, but that the public participation process had been conducted properly. The judge instructed the municipal executive to issue a new decision based on additional research.

Independent Traffic Study

In order to make a new decision, the municipality asked a consulting firm to conduct an independent traffic study on the effects of the road cuts. The firm concluded that the road cuts do not cause any unacceptable traffic bottlenecks and that they improve traffic safety and the quality of the living environment.

Because certain road sections are closed to car traffic, drivers will have to take detours in some cases. However, this only applies to very specific short-distance trips within the neighborhood, which can usually be covered just as easily by bike or on foot. For trips outside the neighborhood, driving distances remain virtually unchanged.

New Traffic Regulation

Based on the positive results of the traffic study, the municipal executive is adopting a new traffic resolution. There will still be two intersections. However, as previously promised to the council, this will be implemented as a two-year pilot program. The work will be carried out in such a way that, if necessary, a return to the previous situation will be possible at a limited cost.

Alderman Hubert Schokker: “We believe that, based on the study we commissioned from the mobility consulting firm Goudappel, we can now make a well-founded traffic decision. In doing so, we are implementing the city council’s decision regarding the redevelopment of the Adegeest neighborhood and the traffic chokepoints.”

Evaluation

Two years after the implementation of the traffic calming measures, an evaluation will be conducted, including a survey of local residents and new traffic volume counts. The municipality has established an assessment framework to ensure transparency in the evaluation process. The municipal executive is expected to decide in 2028 whether or not to permanently implement the traffic calming measures.

The intersection on Berliozlaan

The intersection on Chopinlaan