Berenkuil (traffic)

Last updated
The Berenkuil in Utrecht Verkeersplein De Berekuil te Utrecht.jpg
The Berenkuil in Utrecht

A berenkuil (a Dutch word meaning a bear pit [1] ) is a type of traffic circle found in the Netherlands. In this construction, automotive traffic is directed around a raised outer circle. This leaves a sunken open space in the center of the circle which is used for bicycle paths.

Perhaps the first berenkuil, and the one that gives its name to this type of circle, is the one in Utrecht, built in 1944. There are several theories for the origin of its name, including the possibility that an actual bear pit was located there, or that it was named in honor of the British 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division, nicknamed the polar bears, who liberated Utrecht from the Nazis. [2]

Other examples

Airborneplein, berenkuil in Arnhem Airborneplein Arnhem mei 2007.jpg
Airborneplein, berenkuil in Arnhem
Lammenschansplein, a berenkuil in Leiden Berenkuil Leiden.jpg
Lammenschansplein, a berenkuil in Leiden

Related Research Articles

Eindhoven City and municipality in North Brabant, Netherlands

Eindhoven is the fifth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, located in the south of the country. It had a population of 235,923 in 2021, making it the largest city in the province of North Brabant. Eindhoven was originally located at the confluence of the Dommel and Gender.

Transport in the Netherlands Overview of the transport in the Netherlands

The Netherlands is both a very densely populated and a highly developed country, in which transport is a key factor of the economy. Correspondingly it has a very dense and modern infrastructure, facilitating transport with road, rail, air and water networks. In its Global Competitiveness Report for 2014-2015, the World Economic Forum ranked the Dutch transport infrastructure fourth in the world.

Tilburg City and municipality in North Brabant, Netherlands

Tilburg is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, in the southern province of North Brabant. With a population of 222,601, it is the second-largest municipality in North Brabant and sixth-largest in the Netherlands.

North Brabant Province of the Netherlands

North Brabant, also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to the west, and the Flemish provinces of Antwerp and Limburg to the south. The northern border follows the Meuse westward to its mouth in the Hollands Diep strait, part of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. North Brabant has a population of 2,562,566 as of November 2019. Major cities in North Brabant are Eindhoven, Tilburg, Breda and its provincial capital 's-Hertogenbosch.

Veldhoven Municipality in North Brabant, Netherlands

Veldhoven is a municipality and a town on the Gender stream in the southern Netherlands, located in the Metropoolregio Eindhoven just southwest of Eindhoven.

Bicycle boulevard

A bicycle boulevard, sometimes referred to as a neighborhood greenway, neighborway, neighborhood bikeway or neighborhood byway is a type of bikeway composed of a low-speed street which has been "optimized" for bicycle traffic. Bicycle boulevards discourage cut-through motor-vehicle traffic but allow local motor-vehicle traffic. They are designed to give priority to bicyclists as through-going traffic. They are intended as a low-cost, politically popular way to create a connected network of streets with good bicyclist comfort and/or safety.

Cycling in the Netherlands Dutch mode of transport

Cycling is a common mode of transport in the Netherlands, with 36% of Dutch people listing the bicycle as their most frequent way of getting around on a typical day, as opposed to the car (45%) and public transport (11%). Cycling has a modal share of 27% of all trips nationwide. In cities this is even higher, such as Amsterdam which has 38%, and Zwolle 46%. This high frequency of bicycle travel is enabled by excellent cycling infrastructure such as cycle paths, cycle tracks, protected intersections, ample bicycle parking and by making cycling routes shorter and more direct than car routes.

A2 motorway (Netherlands)

The A2 motorway is a motorway in the Netherlands. It is one of the busiest highways in the Netherlands. The road connects the city of Amsterdam, near the Amstel interchange with the Belgian border, near Maastricht (NL) and Liège (B), and the Belgian A25 road.

A58 motorway (Netherlands)

The A58 motorway is a motorway in the Netherlands. It is approximately 145 kilometers in length. The A58 is located in the Dutch provinces of North Brabant and Zeeland.

Berenkuil, Eindhoven

The Berenkuil is a traffic circle in the Dutch city of Eindhoven, near the campus of the Eindhoven University of Technology. An outer circle for automotive traffic surrounds a second sunken circle for bicycles and motorscooters; ramps from the bicycle lanes along the nearby streets lead into the lower circle via four underpasses. This design for a traffic circle is one that is called a berenkuil in the Netherlands.

Metropoolregio Eindhoven Metropolitan region in Netherlands

The Metropoolregio Eindhoven, until 1 January 2014 the Samenwerkingsverband Regio Eindhoven is a regional governmental agency for the city region of Eindhoven, Netherlands. The MRE comprises 21 municipalities in the Eindhoven agglomeration, with a total area of 1,457.81 square kilometers. The region has nearly three quarters of a million inhabitants and some 35.000 companies.

Jeroen Zoet Dutch footballer

Jeroen Zoet is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club Spezia.

Het Brabants Orkest was a Dutch symphony orchestra, based in the province of North Brabant. Its principal concert venue was the Muziekgebouw Frits Philips in Eindhoven. The orchestra also gave concerts at the Theater aan de Parade in 's-Hertogenbosch, the Concertzaal in Tilburg, and the Chassé Theatre in Breda.

Hovenring Suspended bicycle rounabout

The Hovenring is first of its kind in the world suspended cycle path roundabout in the province of North Brabant in the Netherlands It is situated in between the localities of Eindhoven, Veldhoven, and Meerhoven, which account for its name.

De Herdgang

De Herdgang is a football training facility in Eindhoven, Netherlands. It serves as the training ground and youth academy of PSV Eindhoven and also accommodates its amateur teams. As of the 2014/2015 season Jong PSV play their home games at this facility.

Killing of Nicole van den Hurk Dutch murder case

On 6 October 1995, 15-year-old Nicole van den Hurk disappeared on her way to work in Eindhoven, in the Dutch province of North Brabant. On 22 November, her body was found in the woods between the towns of Mierlo and Lierop.

Zoo Veldhoven

Zoo Veldhoven is a zoo in Veldhoven. Visitors can feed many animals themselves and the park can also be visited under the guidance of a guide.

2019 Dutch provincial elections Dutch provincial elections held in 2019

Provincial elections were held in the Netherlands on 20 March 2019. Eligible voters elected the members of the Provincial States in the twelve provinces of the Netherlands. The elections were held on the same day as the 2019 Dutch water boards elections and, in the Caribbean Netherlands, island council elections.

Tom van den Nieuwenhuijzen Dutch politician

Tom J.H. van den Nieuwenhuijzen-Wittens is a Dutch politician, who held a seat in the House of Representatives. He is a member of the green political party GroenLinks.

A.H.J. "Daan" de Kort is a Dutch politician of the conservative liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). Born in Veldhoven, he served on that town's municipal council starting in 2014, and he became an alderman four years later. He was elected to the House of Representatives in the 2021 Dutch general election.

References

  1. In the old spelling (until 2005) this was spelled berekuil, without the n.
  2. Bril, Martin (26 April 2007), "Berekuil", Volkskrant (in Dutch).
  3. "Internationaal graffiti festival in Berenkuil", Groot Eindhoven (in Dutch), 8 September 2010, archived from the original on 19 July 2011, retrieved 5 October 2010
  4. "Eindhovense Berenkuil krijgt internationaal bezoek", Omroep Brabant (in Dutch), 11 September 2010.
  5. Render, Nick (11 February 2011), "Hovenring tussen Eindhoven en Veldhoven officieel geopend", Omroep Brabant (in Dutch), retrieved 18 July 2012.
  6. Berenkuil krijgt brug over spoor, Brussel Nieuws.be, 20 March 2013