Traffic chaos at Zernike

The bicycle tracks to Zernike have changed, which results in difficult situations. Things will remain like this for a few years due to the construction of the Feringa Building. A solution is currently being worked on.
By Tim Bakker / Translation by Alain Reniers

Anyone who regularly goes to Zernike by bicycle will have noticed it: they made a big change in the bicycle tracks. It is no longer possible to go ‘around the back’ from the Crematoriumlaan to the north of the Zernike complex where, among other things, you can find the Bernoulliborg, Linaeusborg and the Hanze University buildings.

The backdoor to Nijenborgh 4 has also been closed down, whereas recently cyclists from the Zonnelaan have had to go around the campus security building.

The two major bicycle tracks towards Zernike meet each other head on at a crossroads separated by a cycling flow heading in the opposite direction. Further on, at Nijenborgh 4, things are even trickier. At a crossroads the size of a student’s room, eight bicycle tracks intersect, two of which lead directly across a bus lane.

Chaotic

‘It is all very chaotic’, says Gea Schuurman-Wolters. She works as a biochemical research analyst at Nijenborgh 4 and has to deal with this situation on a daily basis. ‘All cyclists have to cross the same point, it’s bound to lead to problems. I’m curious how it will end, especially with the start of the new study year. The foreign students will be afraid to cycle to class; they’ll all take the bus. That would be a shame.’

Things are difficult for cyclists, ‘but try and get your car to P1, the car park at Nijenborgh 4. It’s impossible.’ Drivers need to take a right on the Zernikelaan after the security building to get to the car park. To do so, they now need to cross the new and busy two-lane bicycle track.

And it is easier now, for drivers at least, that the route no longer follows the Zernikelaan directly, but runs behind the security building. ‘This means cars no longer have to cross both the bus lane and the bicycle track; they can first drive around the bend. Otherwise, there would be congestion up to the ring road until September.’

Feringa Building

It is true that preparations for the Feringa Building’s construction ‘impact the logistical flow’, says Jeroen de Lezenne Coulander, communication consultant of Real estate and Investments (VGI) of the RUG. ‘This applies primarily for cyclists. Not much has changed for cars, they always had to cross the tracks. But in order to make things go smoothly, there are traffic controllers for the morning rush. I’ve been there a few times to see how things are, and it really is necessary.’

Things are not ideal, De Lezenne Coulander admits, ‘but construction traffic needs to be able to drive around safely and we wanted to keep the Crematoriumlaan free of cyclists, because it is the route to the funeral home.’ It is only a temporary situation. ‘But you do need to take into account that temporary is a couple of years. For the future, there are plans to fully reimagine Zernikelaan. And once Nijenborgh 4 has been demolished, it will be possible to build wider bicycle tracks so there is a better flow at Zernike.’

Frogs have right of way

This takes too long, Schuurman-Wolters thought. That is why she came up with a solution together with a colleague to have cyclists from Park Selwerd cycle around the back of the Linaeusborg. If you do not take a left after the viaduct, but go straight, you will reach the Paddepoelsterweg. The road lies in parallel with the old route and leads into the northern fields. She thinks that a temporary (or permanent) road or bridge to the Linaeusborg across about 100 metres of grass would ‘massively relieve’ the Zernikelaan.

There is one major issue: ‘Natuurmonumenten (Society for the Preservation of Nature) apparently spotted a few little frogs, which means other protocols apply.’

The possibility of a bridge is being looked into, De Lezenne Coulander affirms. ‘It would be the ideal route to get to the north of the campus. The municipality is working hard on developing plans for this, but they have not been fully approved. Partial agreements are in place, but I’m not sure whether this also applies to the environmental organisations. That’s a municipal issue; I don’t know anything about it.’

A spokesperson for the municipality of Groningen confirms there have been talks between RUG board members and the municipality about the situation at Zernike, but says the contents of those discussions are confidential.

Dutch

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