15 December 2021

BIKE AWAY!

It is freezing cold on Thursday morning, December 9, at 9:00 am in the narrow Vijfharingenstraatje. The first customers for Souren bakery are on foot and on bicycles. Cyclists skim past pedestrians. Employees come to work. Students on flip-flops remove their bicycles. What's going on?

Employees of the municipal Bicycle Enforcement Team hang labels on dozens of bicycle handlebars. In the background the former Hudson's Bay building with #posifiets 'art installations' in the windows, tips on bike rules and a survey map of parking facilities. Posters on some windows 'urge' tenants to make use of their own bicycle cellar in particular.

Enforcement officer Dave Schroen: "In the city centre you really need to park your bike in racks and bicycle compartments. In the narrow streets haphazardly parked bicycles cause dangerous situations. That is inconvenient for pedestrians, the disabled and, in the event of an emergency, for the ambulance and the fire department. We now hang labels on the handlebars. They contain a warning for the owner. We will return in an hour. If the bike is still there, we'll take it to the depot on Gerardusweg. Collection costs 25 euros."

Sin

Meanwhile, his colleague Raoul Bleize stops someone who just wants to park her bike against the facade: "I'm going to work. Yes my employer has a parking facility. But I have to go through a corridor to get behind the building. I think that's too much work." For today, she does anyway. "Twenty-five euros fine is a waste." Suddenly the street gets busier. Students on flip-flops come running out. Phone in hand: "You really need to come yourself now. I also put on my coat while I haven't even had breakfast yet. Leaving your bike on costs money."

Entrepreneurs

Bakery Souren, jewelry store Clio, clothing store Valeb Stories and coffee shop Kaldi in the Vijfharingenstraatje and Sporenstraat all participate in #posifiets. They enter into conversation with cyclists. They have made posters, put labels on bicycles and put messages on social media. All with the aim of asking cyclists not to park along the facades and shop windows. Marie-José Leurs of Souren Bakery and Bert Dassen of Clio agree: "We like to participate in #posifiets for a nice atmosphere in our streets. At the same time people continue to park their bikes along the facades. Therefore we are happy with today's enforcement action. Finally some action! A serious signal. Posi bicycle is not an empty slogan!" Bert also has a wish for the new year: "Local authorities provide clear signs where you may and may not park your bicycle. And clearly show where cyclists are allowed to go."

At the end of the day dozens of people had removed their bicycles within the hour. In the end, 29 bicycles from Vijfharingenstraatje and Sporenstraat were taken away, Dieter Elsen, coordinator of the Bicycle Enforcement Team, told us. "We continue to provide information, engage in conversation, and if there is really no other way, we do have to enforce."