Business owners are worried about the accessibility of shopping streets
It’s not only cyclists, but also bicycles that are currently prohibited in the centre of Groningen. The Gemeente has recently brought in new regulations to try and ease over-crowding in the city centre, and to give shoppers more space for social distancing.
Business owners on the Folkingestraat are angry that their street is closed to bicycle traffic: “this has fatal consequences for street,” says Theo Butterhof of the ISIS antiquarian bookshop. As reported by OOGTV.
“We have many customers who come by bicycle and how can people that have difficulty walking now come to the city center?”, Butterhof says. “Suddenly there are fences, displays are no longer allowed and that is something we have fought for over ten years. No consultations were held with us, nor with the city council.”
“Not only us, but also the market and entrepreneurs in the Stoeldraaierstraat and on the Zuiderdiep are angry,” continues Butterhof.
The organisation of entrepreneurs, the Groningen City Club, says that now that a bridge near Groningen Museum is prohibited for bikes, it already is very calm in the Folkingestraat. The club is therefore calling for a relaxation of the rules.
Image via Wikimedia user Donald Trung. License here.
