A huge catastrophe is looming for the Netherlands. According to the ANWB, a perfect storm is coming!
A true catastrophe threatens the country's roads. It's getting busier and busier. Nowadays you even get stuck in traffic jams, which was absolutely not the case 10 years ago. The reason is of course very simple to explain: there are more cars, but hardly any more roads. This of course results in busier roads.
According to the ANWB, even a perfect storm is threatening. This is shared by the General Dutch Cyclists' Association The Telegraph. That is not immediately today, or in a few months or weeks, but in 10 years. Then, according to them, the situation is so bad that the Netherlands is completely silted up.
Multiple factors
According to the ANWB, there are several reasons to assume that they are right, because there are a number of factors playing in the background to which the government, the ANWB and Het Nederlandsche Volk do not contribute positively.
First of all, already a bit of a reveal, there are more cars. Even though new cars are selling less well than 20 years ago, they remain in use on license plates for much longer. There are many more people than before and they all need a car. There is simply more traffic.
But that's not the only thing. A lot is happening behind the scenes, leaving us with nowhere to go. Fewer roads are being built due to nitrogen emissions. Many road renovations are also postponed as a result.
Perfect storm due to nitrogen
Due to inflation and rising interest rates, it will only become more expensive the longer you wait. According to the ANWB, there are some routes where renovation and conversion are repeatedly postponed, but this only creates greater (financial) risks. What costs a few million to fix now will double in a few years. Then the chance of doing something about it is even smaller. There are currently 17 projects that are on hold due to nitrogen emissions.
The ANWB actually states that the government should take much more control. For example, 80% of the bridges and tunnels are managed by the municipalities, which do not have sufficient cash in hand to maintain them all. That is why more money must be given from the government.
Public transport inadequate
Does everyone have to use public transport? No! Because that doesn't seem to be nearly enough. In fact, it's only going to get worse. There is a reduction in the supply (so fewer buses, trams and trains) and they are faced with a huge staffing problem.
All these factors mean that more people have to rely on the car and the infrastructure, as it currently stands, is not prepared for this. The way things are going now and looking ahead to developments in our cold little country, a perfect storm is coming.
The ANWB has drawn up a memorandum and will discuss it with the House of Representatives on January 22 (next week). All members of the House of Representatives – most of them wet behind the ears – have already received the bill.
Image credit: still out The Perfect Storm (2000) from Warner Brother.
This article The Netherlands is silting up completely: a perfect storm is coming first appeared on Autoblog.nl.
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