The municipal council of Emmen will invest €18m in a range of projects designed to make the city center a thriving and safe place to be for the next four years, RTV Drenthe reports.
The projects include upgrading the entrance to the Rensenpark, which houses the new Center for Visual Arts, and improving the existing bicycle lanes. The design and implementation of bike lanes will be at the forefront of the new investment strategy. The municipality aims to improve the route from the Emmen center to the Angelslo neigborhood, and create protected cycle lanes and safer intersections. Bicycle parking spaces at the train station will also be expanded.
On top of that, two streets, Wilhelminastraat and Hoofdstraat Zuid, will be renovated, and under-used retail spaces converted to apartment units.
Part of the investment funding, about €4.5m, will come from the provincial budget. The province has set up a Regional City Fund for this type of projects, which Assen, Hoogeveen and Meppel can also tap into.
