City Conducts Study on Traffic Measures in the City Center

In 2019, several traffic measures were implemented in the center of Voorschoten, stemming from the 2018 Voorschoten Center Plan and the Voorstraat Voorschoten Plan. This led to several objections from residents. Consequently, the Municipal Executive decided to commission a further study. The so-called Voorschoten City Center Traffic Study has since been completed and was sent to the council for information just before the summer recess.

Councilwoman Erika Spil (Traffic and Transportation): “Thanks to this traffic study, we can take a well-informed look at the measures already taken and those still to be taken regarding the traffic situation in the city center. I understand that we can’t please everyone here, but the safety of (vulnerable) road users, the shopping experience for visitors, and economic considerations were given significant weight in the study.”

Recommendations

The traffic measures stem from the 2018 Voorschoten City Center Plan and the Voorstraat Voorschoten Plan. In response to these objections, the municipality commissioned Sweco Nederland B.V. to conduct a further study. This resulted in a number of recommendations to adjust the current traffic situation and signage in certain areas. One example is aligning the times of the bicycle ban on Schoolstraat on Fridays with those on other days (until 6:00 p.m.). Other times remain unchanged. To ensure access to the shops, we will replace the no-entry restriction on Voorstraat with one-way traffic (between Schoolstraat and Blokstraat). There are also currently a few blue zones with different time limits. These will all be standardized to a maximum parking duration of two hours. In addition, at the entrance to the pedestrian zones, there are various signs with lengthy text below them, which isn’t always clear to everyone. These are a number of measures the municipality will be implementing in the near future.

More information

The two traffic plans and the study report, which outlines the other traffic adjustments, are available on the municipal website at www.voorschoten.nl/verkeersplan.