Redesigning the Krakelingweg in the city Zeist; Independent assessment. The planned addition of a distributor road parallel to the Krakelingweg provides the municipality of Zeist the opportunity to convert the Krakelingweg to a parallel access road. The new distributor road will remove through-traffic from the existing road, separate residence accesses, and allow higher traffic volumes to reflect the intended use of the link as a distributor road. The redesign of the existing road to an urban access road has led to a draft design with the preferred solution having a cross section with mixed traffic and removing the separate bicycle path. A number of residents opposed to the proposed solution, preferring the existing separate bicycle path to mixed traffic. The residents have developed their own design. Because of this difference of opinion, SWOV was requested to evaluate the road safety implications of the proposed designs and to formulate conclusions in this regard. The proposed construction of the new Krakelingweg and the redesign of the existing Krakelingweg to a ‘Zone 30’ with mixed traffic will improve the safety of the current situation. Keeping in mind the new distributor road, the designation as ‘Zone 30’ of the existing Krakelingweg, the continuity of its cross section, and its low traffic volumes, the proposed design is the preferred alternative. The conclusion drawn from the assessment is that the layout proposed by the residents provides a slightly lower level of safety than the design of the municipality and provides less of a match with the requirements of a sustainably safe traffic system. This report provides an independent review of the choice to maintain or discontinue the separate cycle path along the existing Krakelingweg. This review is limited to this aspect of the design and is not a complete road safety audit. No review of the overall design of the new Krakelingweg is provided.
Abstract