The Afsluitdijk must soon be reopened for cyclists and walkers. Fietsersbond, cycling sports association NTFU, Wandelnet and the Fietsplatform are calling on the House of Representatives to take care of this. It cannot be explained that the iconic dyke will remain closed to cyclists and walkers for six years due to a simple design flaw.

Last Thursday, the Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Nieuwenhuizen informed the House of Representatives that the Afsluitdijk will remain closed to cyclists for years due to an error in the design. The House of Representatives will discuss this letter on 1 December. According to Fietsersbond director Esther van Garderen, it is time for the House to correct the minister. The Fietsersbond reports this on their website.

“People want to be able to cycle and walk there. Cyclists and walkers are carelessly pushed aside here. Apparently it goes without saying for this minister that cars always take precedence over cyclists and walkers. Surely that should be over in the Netherlands? If a solution is not found very quickly, we will also look at other means. ”

Lawsuit

The Fietsersbond a lawsuit against the closure and the fact that cyclists and walkers could only cross the Afsluitdijk by bus. This case was unfortunately lost. At the time, it was expected that the Afsluitdijk would be 'only' closed for three years, so now it will be six years. Ankie van Dijk, director of Wandelnet, believes that this changes the matter. “It is precisely in this corona pandemic that people want to walk as much as possible. The Afsluitdijk is an important, challenging stage in the Zuiderzeepad, among others. ”

Arjan de Vries, director of the NTFU cycling association: “The Afsluitdijk is an important link in the IJsselmeer tour for cyclists. It is high time that Rijkswaterstaat was commissioned to come up with creative solutions, there are plenty of them. We as advocates like to think along. ”

Bicycle platform director Eric Nijland thought waiting three years was already a lot, but the new postponement is unacceptable. “There are many important cycling and walking routes over the Afsluitdijk. Now that we are increasingly recreating in our own country, they are indispensable. We therefore call on the House of Representatives to ask the minister to come up with proposals quickly. ”

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