Priorities further explained
Reducing traffic accidents
After illnesses, traffic acccidents are the main cause of death for people in Wageningen. From conversations and our own experiences, we would like to improve the following traffic situations with the yearly budget that is available for this:
- The crossing with the Nobelweg and Geertjeweg in front of the Jan Linders
- Roundabout at the Diedenweg and Geertjesweg
- Roundabout at the Bakkersschool (Marijkeweg-Kortenoord Allee). Because of the cyclists that go both ways.
- Curve at the Havenafweg and Grebbedijk. This is a dangerous spot for pedestrians and cyclists: a broader pavement is needed together with a safe crossing.
Additionally, we want to lower the maximum speed in the city center, Plantsoen, and other areas where this may be needed, to 30km/h. Compared to other municipalities, Wageningen has relatively high number of cases where people are driving under influence. We want to invest more into prevention and education regarding this.
Lastly, we want to encourage the use of the bicycle, public transport, and walking. For this, it is important that the necessary facilities are present, such as parking spots for bikes, safe pavements, and bus stops.
Safety remains a high priority
Wageningen is mostly a safe municipality. We do see a rising trend in criminality since 2017, which Connect wants to fight against. We also want the municipality of Wageningen and its police to help inhabitants with becoming more resilient against criminality. Here are some examples:
Connect wants more attention for digital safety. We are in the middle of a technological revolution in which people are expected to use more and more online tools. We want to lower the risk of fraud and blackmail by offering education to people who are at-risk.
We also repeatedly hear about burglaries in student houses. It is of the utmost importance to feel safe in the place where you sleep, study, and have fun. We want the municipality, the police, Idealis, and other landlords to actively advise students to protect their homes against burglaries. For instance, in every student house there should be safety-checks for burglaries.
In Wageningen, we do not have much drugs-related criminality. We think this is because Wageningen’s coffeeshops are located in the city center, which is a relatively safe space due to the presence of many people on the streets. Therefore, we support the existence of the coffeeshops, as long as our national government tolerates it.
We think it is important that animal abuse is dealt with. The muniscipality could devote more attention to preventing animal abuse, together with the Dierenbescherming (animal protection). Sometimes, abuse happens without the abuser knowing. For example, a house cat who gets fed irregularly or too little, because the owner is away from home often. By making people aware of such problems or applying smart solutions, this can be prevented.
Safety experience on the street needs to be improved
From our conversations, we have noticed that the feeling of safety in Wageningen has decreased. The neighbourhood police officer is unknown to many, and many walking- and cycling roads in and around Wageningen are badly lit. We think this feeling of safety in and around the city needs to be improved: we need ecologically friendly street-lights on the dyke or the Wallenpad, just as a more involved and visible neighboorhoud police officer, instead of placing more camera’s in our city.
