The existing bicycle path will becomes a road for cars. Photo Roelof Kleis If you’re coming to the campus by car from the western side of Wageningen, you have to drive right round to the Mansholtlaan. There is no western entrance to the campus. But there soon will be.
WUR has agreed with the municipality on the construction of a road for cars on the south side of the bus lane. Up to 700 cars a day are expected to use this route, says Lex Roders (Facilities & Services). The figure is based on estimates by traffic experts involved in the provincial project Beter Bereikbaar Wageningen. Access may be regulated with a permit system.
Dassenbos
But it is not yet certain that the road will be built. The route is currently a cycle path, which will have to be widened for shared use by cars and pedestrians. A new cycle path will then be built on the north side of the bus lane. There is already a path from the Bornsesteeg to Aurora, but the building of the missing section (along the Dassenbos thicket) is being opposed by the lobby group Mooi Wageningen.
It is not yet certain that the road will be built
This protest was triggered by WUR’s felling of 14 trees last year to make way for the cycle path. According to Mooi Wageningen, this has irreparably damaged the old forest soil. The organization demands replanting on the same spot, but WUR wants to compensate for the felling by expanding the Dassenbos on its northern edge, where there is still a bit of meadow.
Whether WUR will get the go-ahead from the province is not yet certain. Meanwhile, until the cycle path has been constructed, students can earn a little extra in the rush hour by keeping the temporary bicycle crossing at Aurora safe.
