Noise levels A2/A67 Randweg Eindhoven

At the beginning of 2022, Rijkswaterstaat started a procedure for increasing the maximum permitted noise load on the facades of 193 homes in Meerhoven and the surrounding area. This is partly due to the increasing traffic on the A2/A67 Randweg Eindhoven. In Meerhoven, this concerns 74 homes on the east side of the district (Grasrijk, Bosrijk, Zandrijk and Meerbos). Consult this overview for the specific addresses.

View
In May 2022, the Residents’ Association Meerhoven submitted a view on Rijkswaterstaat’s plans. The association proposed, among other things, to tackle the problem at the source, including lowering the maximum speed on the A2 near Eindhoven from 120 to 100 km/h throughout the day, as is currently the case on the A2 around Den Bosch. We also questioned the principles of the noise research. At the time, we called on the residents of the homes in Meerhoven to submit the same views. A total of 42 residents and organizations submitted views.

Decision
On June 11, 2024, the Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management approved Rijkswaterstaat’s plans in a formal decision. The views have not led to any changes to the plans. According to the minister, additional noise abatement measures are not effective or legally necessary. The Memorandum of Reply contains the responses to all views. The response to the view of Residents’ Association Meerhoven is indicated by number 8.

Appeal
Interested parties who disagree with the decision could appeal to the Council of State until July 25, 2024. In line with the decision of the Gerenal Meeting of June 20, 2022, the board of Residents’ Association Meerhoven has submitted an appeal. This is also on behalf of residents who have authorized the board to do so. The association has put forward several arguments (grounds for appeal) why they disagree with the Minister’s decision.

Speed limit
Residents’ Association Meerhoven disagrees, among other things, with the fact that the minister has set higher noise levels based on (calculated) speeds that are higher than the applicable speed limits for car and truck traffic. By doing so, the minister is legalising speeding and placing the nuisance on local residents. The association believes that in this case the minister should focus on enforcing the speed limit. For example, by means of route control as is done on various national roads in the Netherlands.

Furthermore, the association argues that the minister has not sufficiently explained why lowering the speed limit on the A2 near Eindhoven from 120 to 100 km/h is not possible or desirable. The minister states, among other things, that lowering the speed limit has significant negative consequences for the traffic flow. However, according to the association, this argument does not hold: where the speed reduction between 6 am and 7 pm from 2020 has apparently not led to any problems, this certainly also applies to the period from 7 pm to 6 am.

Other grounds for appeal
In addition to a lower speed limit and its enforcement, the association has also raised other arguments. For instance, the association has pointed out various inaccuracies in the acoustic calculation model and believes that the minister has not sufficiently substantiated why additional source measures (‘quieter’ asphalt) and/or transfer-limiting measures (shielding) will not be implemented after all. You can read more about these and other matters in the appeal.

Questions
Given the busy period at the Council of State, it is expected that it will take more than a year before the appeal is dealt with on the merits. Do you have questions about this topic in the meantime? Please contact us at info@meerhoven.nl.