The Centre of Delft, like the centre of any city, is one of the most important parts of the city, it’s the heart of the city and really makes Delft what it is. Below is a picture of the city centre square from the top of the new church (which was quite the “hike” to get all the way to the top of the church tower).
At the city centre square and along some of the surrounding streets, every Thursday there is a market in which vendors and retailers set up stalls and sell their goods. You can buy everything from clothes, to fresh fruits and vegetables, to old records, to fresh fish, to appleflappen, to Delft blue pottery, to fresh baked bread. It truly is an amazing experience to go to the market and just observe all the things that are being sold. Many Delft residents do some of their weekly shopping at this market as it is enjoyable and easy for the shoppers because they don’t have to travel very far to get to the city centre to do their shopping. Also, on Saturdays there is a smaller market which is more a flea market in which anyone can try to sell old collectables. Below are some pictures captured during the market on Thursday:
Fun fact according to the assignment four description, “the city centre square was actually a parking lot until around the year 2000 (except on market day), when it went car free.” I could not imagine the city centre square being full of cars, the decision to make it completely car free in 2000 really exemplifies how progressive and environmentally friendly the city of Delft is.
The city centre is not only the central square, but it also includes the surrounding areas. Over time, they have become less and less car centric and more pedestrian and cyclist friendly. There are moveable bollards in the ground in some locations near the central square which keep all vehicles out and then when delivery trucks, emergency vehicles, and garbage trucks need to access the area, they are lowered and the vehicles can drive over them. I really would like to see something like this implemented in Kelowna on some roads downtown, even for just one day a month at first, we don’t know what we are missing!
Delft follows the example of having a ring around the city for vehicles with the centre of the city becoming more and more just for pedestrians and cyclists. The roads in the centre of the city are shared between the pedestrians and cyclists, as the pedestrian areas do not disallow bicycles.
Another measure used in the city centre of Delft to discourage vehicles coming into the centre is that they are planting trees in parking lanes, which not only makes the area more aesthetically pleasing with the increased foliage, but it makes trying to park more frustrating. What they did do however was expand a shopping centre towards the train station which is close enough to the circle road around the city that if people want to come park underground, they can.
All in all, the Delft city centre is so enjoyable, one of the reasons being due to the absence of vehicles. I think that Delft should be used as a model for other communities of how to preserve a city centre and make it more vibrant and accessible for pedestrians and bicyclists.
