Good news for those who love the Zuiderdijk. The weekend ban on motorcycles on the fourteen kilometer long Zuiderdijk between Hoorn and Enkhuizen has been definitively lifted.
In an appeal against the closure filed by Motorrijders Actie Groep (MAG), the Council of State ruled in favor of the interest group six months ago.
It was crystal clear that the road manager, the municipality of Drechterland, had not been able to provide insight into the number of complaints on which the closure was based. The municipality did not know who the complaints came from or what exactly the complaint had been about, and there had been no traffic investigation.
The Council of State stated that the objection to the closure already lodged by the MAG in 2021 had been wrongly rejected. The prohibition signs therefore had to disappear, which – to be fair – the municipality took action that same week. This meant, among other things, a clear path for the deliberately peaceful reopening stage that the MAG organized on June 22.
The road manager was given six months by the Council of State to reassess the MAG’s original objection. Of course, Drechterland now had to provide good substantiation for this.
However, the recently completed study clearly showed that the traffic noise that could be experienced as a nuisance clearly came not only from motorcycles, but also from cars.
The municipality also looked at the accidents registered in the first ten months and the nuisance reports recorded from May to October. This also turned out to certainly not only concern motorcyclists but also other road users.
The municipality has therefore decided to abandon the traffic decision. Councilor Ten Have says about this on rodi.nl: “The results are clear, there is a broader problem on the Zuiderdijk. That is why we are withdrawing the traffic decision. But at the same time we are also aware that this does not solve the situation. That is why we will not stop there and will look at alternatives together with the environment.”
In addition to the ruling of the Council of State, the MAG can now also use this research to prevent future closures, and perhaps even to reverse existing closures.
– Thanks for information from Motorfreaks.