Look in the neighborhood: Bakel, neighborhood located between Dorpsstraat-Roessel and Schoolstraat- Auerschootseweg
Attendees:
Willie van Geel, Area Manager
Marco Tielemans, Field service team leader
Michiel van Veen, Mayor
Bibi van den Bosch, Communications Officer
Janine Rechters, Policy Officer Social Domain
Sjoerd Pijpers, Specialist Traffic and Transport
Joris van Loon, Council Member
Therese van den Eventuin-Boogaerts, Councilmember
Introduction round
Starting point is the church at Bakel. Attendees briefly introduce themselves to the group. The topics to be discussed have been notified in advance by residents. The route is determined on that basis and sent to the residents in advance.
Locations
Location 1
Question/complaint | Ms. indicated that she finds the bike lane / sidewalk very poor on Village Street. |
On-site response | The area manager OB indicated that the quality seems adequate. |
Solution | From an external company, the trails are surveyed on set deadlines, after which it is determined whether or not action is needed. Another survey will soon be conducted (on standard schedule) by the external firm to measure quality. |
Question/complaint | Ms. indicates that visibility is poor near the pedestrian crossing at Sigmans because of the trees present. In addition, she comments that traffic at the pedestrian crossing just keeps going. |
On-site response | The situation was reviewed on site. It was concluded that visibility is adequate, but that the white stones of the crosswalk have become gray. It was promised that the field service will clean these stones. |
Solution | The commitment was executed on 28-6-2023. |
Question/complaint | The truck ban at the site is not enforced. (Only firm Rooijakkers from Milheeze is allowed to pass.) The solution, according to Mrs. is to make a chicane. However, the mayor foresees problems with this proposal, as this solution evokes a lot of aggression and incomprehension from people. |
On-site response | The mayor's suggestion was that The Voice Of Bakel take stock of whether there is a supported proposal among the residents of Bakel to modify the road. |
Solution | Initiative for discussions lies with The Voice of Bakel. |
Question/complaint | From the gas station to Milheeze, the roadway is (nowadays) asphalt. That is why there is now easy (too) fast driving, according to the lady. Also, according to her, the hard driving on the Molenakkers between the threshold Hooge Braak and the threshold Sigmans. |
On-site response | This observation is the personal opinion of the citizen. |
Solution | There are no measurements and/or accident records to support Ms.'s observation. No action will be taken. |
Dorpsstraat in Bakel
Additional Response Policy Officer:
Accident data were retrieved from the national database containing registrations from police, insurers and hospitals. The speed on the Dorpsstraat in Bakel was analyzed based on data from passing cars in which navigation and/or mobile telephony was present.
The accidents there since 2014, 7 involving mostly motorists, had nothing to do with speed and everything to do with yielding the right of way. No pedestrians were involved in the accidents. Based on this, it can be said that the road's crossability can be called acceptable for the time being. Although some barrier effect may be assumed, there is no unsafe situation for pedestrians.
In terms of speed, for a judgment in June 2023, we looked at a cutout of the month of May 2023.
As can be seen from the above depiction of speeds driven by motor vehicles, it can be seen that while speeds faster than 30 km/h are being driven, it was only on a right-of-way between the Molenakkers and Hooge Braak that speeds exceeding 40 km/h were evident.
That, coupled with the fact that the accidents that have occurred there were not really speed related, makes the need to address Dorpsstraat 'score' lower than elsewhere. Overall, one can speak of a relatively safe traffic situation.
The traffic picture, based on the above data, outlines a situation that, in comparison to others, gives no immediate reason to do anything about it.
Location 2
Question/complaint | Ms. wants to discuss the bench at Mary's Grotto on Village Street-Juliana Street. |
On-site response | The bench in question is a bench in honor of a 100-year-old citizen. The location was chosen by family; this makes it difficult to remove the bench. The mayor came up with the idea that when the bench I in question is worn out, that the bench be removed. The plaque can then be returned to the municipality and can be put away or assigned a special place. |
Solution | Because the bench is worn out it will be removed; it is no longer safe. A policy is currently being established for objects in space, which includes benches. Once this policy is established it will be decided what will happen to the personalized plate of the bench. |
Question/complaint | Following up, Ms. asked for a bench on First Sand Road, after Play Meadow. |
On-site response | Relevant request must be assessed. |
Solution | This request is currently being reviewed by the municipality. |
Question/complaint | Ms. makes the request to have a bench placed at the corner of Hoge Braak - Roessel. Behind it, an apartment complex will be built in the near future. The field of view of the bench should therefore be placed in the direction of the bus stop. |
On-site response | This bench has been promised by the municipality. |
Solution | The bench is in place. |
Additional questions by several residents during the Look in the Neighborhood
Missing light pole
During the walk it was indicated that the light pole at 64 Dorpsstraat has been gone for quite some time. The area manager has indicated that this is because the necessary material is not available at Heijmans. A similar situation applies to the lamppost at Nieuwe Uitleg. The lamppost has since been replaced.
Pruning for solar panels
Halfway through the yet a resident came out to make an additional report. The lady indicated that she would like the trees to be cut shorter in favor of solar panels. The trees she would like to see shorter are trees over 80 years old. It was stated by the mayor that in accordance with our policy no trees will be removed and trees will not be pruned differently because of solar panels.
Green at bike path
Along the bike path on the Roessel, near Zorgboog, a lot of greenery is currently growing. The greenery comes from the Zorgboog. The area manager has indicated to contact the Zorgboog about maintaining the greenery. The sidewalk has been maintained by the field service. Within the image quality level (B level) at which sidewalks are maintained, a percentage of greenery between tiles is allowed.
Sand after rainfall
At the traffic circle at St. Jozefheil, sand remains after a rainfall. This was answered that the sweeping frequency is once every 7 weeks. It started raining just after the sweeping round. Hence some sand remains. This would be resolved by the next sweeping round. This will go with the regular sweeping round. The situation does not require immediate action around the gully, there is enough room to drive around the sand or possible water. When the road is redesigned, attention will be paid to this gully.
Situation School Street
On School Street, near De Bakelaar, there is no crosswalk. However, there is a crosswalk, but there is often double parking here during the pick-up and drop-off of children. This is experienced as a major annoyance by local residents. Parking problems at schools are borough-wide, and even nationwide. It often involves a limited amount of time, 2-4 times a day, during which there is a nuisance. It is often not (cost) effective to construct extra parking spaces or a Kiss&Ride (Zoen&Zoef) for this. The biggest change can be created by raising awareness and changing behavior among parents, for example by a campaign from the school. If it turns out that infrastructural changes are necessary, we will investigate the best option. Schools can indicate to the municipality if they need help with this.
Maintenance of greenery
Ms. van Berlo asked why the greenery in the Soersel area is not being maintained. She indicated that it was recently mowed, but the grass clippings have been there for two weeks. She also feels that when someone comes by, the maintenance is poorly done. The area manager indicated on the spot that this problem exists throughout the municipality; Senzer cannot handle the amount of work. At a later time, municipality employees visited the site to review the situation. It was then concluded that the site looks neat (Image Quality B). No action is being taken regarding the site. We are currently drafting new contracts with Senzer.
Customer contact with municipality
Ms. van Berlo asked why the greenery in the Soersel area is not being maintained. She indicated that it was recently mowed, but the grass clippings have been there for two weeks. She also feels that when someone comes by, the maintenance is poorly done. The area manager indicated on the spot that this problem exists throughout the municipality; Senzer cannot handle the amount of work. At a later time, municipality employees visited the site to review the situation. It was then concluded that the site looks neat (Image Quality B). No action is being taken regarding the site. We are currently drafting new contracts with Senzer.
Wim Vloetpad
The Wim Vloet path is difficult to access from the neighborhood; there are too many weeds and tall grass in summer and too much mud in winter.
The road surface managed by municipality is unpaved/semi-paved and maintained as such.
It is also requested that the path be extended slightly so that it is easier to cycle towards Bakel. This decision cannot be made just like that. The Water Board is still a deciding party in this. In the past they did not want an asphalt path and they do not want to extend it.