The streets in Dreven Noord are residential streets. In principle, they are perfectly designed to prioritise pedestrians and cyclists over cars. Cars are slowed down by all the sharp bends in the road and the occasional narrow sections. However, there are still a few places where drivers can go faster than is desirable.
Traffic Plan
Residents have pointed out that the bends are sometimes too tight. We looked into what we could do about this. However, we ultimately decided to leave most of them as they are.
The whole point of a residential zone is that you drive at walking pace. The numerous sharp bends also ensure that it is not possible to drive fast. To prevent the edges from being worn down by drivers cutting corners, we are looking into whether we can install higher concrete kerbs in some places to make it more difficult to drive over a planting bed.
To prevent people from accidentally driving down a dead-end street, we have installed what are known as ‘speed bumps’. These are not so much designed to slow traffic down, but rather to ensure that people do not drive down this street without thinking. We are also adding a few speed bumps.
At pedestrian and cycle crossings and in play areas, we’ll create a pattern using black concrete blocks. This alerts motorists that there’s something going on here. The entrance square for the primary school will feature a very large, area-filling pattern; details of this can be seen in the ‘entrance’ sub-area.
Some people expressed concerns about the neighbourhood’s accessibility for the emergency services. Throughout the planning process, we have ensured that accessibility is not compromised. There are, however, a few spots in the neighbourhood where space is tight. In these cases, it is private gardens or sheds that are the limiting factor. This cannot, therefore, be improved by making changes to the public space.