#10: Haantje
Background
Haantje is a road just outside of Delft in a town called Rijswijk. Haantje is a suburban road that contains both residential houses and businesses. The length of Haantje is 1.09 km long and follows a canal the whole way. There is one railroad crossing on Haantje.
Current Conditions
Haantje contains mostly single family homes that are at most two stories tall. There are also a few businesses and shops such as car rentals and a mechanic. Even though the road has a high speed of 50 km/h there is no bike separation. There is two mixed-use lanes for cars and bike, a single marked parking lane, and a sidewalk for pedestrians on the side of the houses. When I walked down Haantje I realized how busy this suburban road really is; I counted 25 vehicles pass me in a time span of ten minutes. That is a high amount of traffic for a residential road. There was also a few cyclists on the road as well. I may not have had a good representation of the number of cyclists usually on Haantje due to the fact that it was raining when I walked down the road. The Dutch always know when to and when not to cycle because of the Doppler app. There are currently painted ‘X’ marks in the driveways of the parking lane. This painted symbol is to stop cars from blocking driveways on Haantje. The railroad crossing has a ramp and raised intersection so vehicles and cyclists can cross safely. This increase in elevation is marked by white painted lines to warn the drivers/cyclists of the change in road. It is obvious that an effort has been put in to calm traffic/ increase safety because there is a mirror for turning traffic, a speed sensor, and a sign warning drivers it is a bus route.
Diagnosis and Changes
Haantje does not meet the Dutch safety standards that you can see in Delft. It is very dangerous having mixed traffic on such a busy road and such a high speed. To encourage cycling I would add a cycle track on each side of the road. To make room for this cycle track I would get rid of the single lane of parking. There is enough parking in driveways and green spaces in front of businesses to allow the demand of cars in the area. Having a cycle track along the canal would allow for a beautiful, scenic ride and encourage biking over driving. I would also change the speed of the road to 30 km/h instead of 50. 30 km/h is the standard speed for residential roads in the Netherlands. Due to high rail traffic that crosses Haantje, I would add warning lights right before the crossing to warn drivers and cyclists of the train. An example of this can be seen in front on Delft Technical University where cyclists and pedestrians have to cross the tram tracks.