The Province of South Holland, the Rotterdam The Hague Metropolitan Region (MRDH), and the municipalities of Leidschendam-Voorburg and The Hague want to jointly invest in a new bridge for cyclists over the Vliet River between Voorburg and Leidschenveen-Ypenburg. A new bridge will significantly improve the final hurdle on the important regional cycle route between Pijnacker and The Hague city center, which has been under construction since 2019. The plan is to relocate the current “Nieuwe Tolbrug” (New Toll Bridge), a national monument dating from 1891 and also known as the “Kippenbrug” (Chicken Bridge), to Park Vreugd en Rust in Voorburg. There, it can remain in use for pedestrians.
Klaas Verschuure, Alderman for Urban Development in the municipality of The Hague: “With a new bridge, we’ll keep the entire region accessible and cycling will become even more attractive, even for longer distances. This is desperately needed, as many people are moving into the area. With the improved connection, everyone can easily, quickly, and safely cycle to work, school, or anywhere else.”
Jeffrey Keus, Alderman for Mobility for the municipality of Leidschendam-Voorburg: “I’m pleased that the ‘Kippenbrug’ will be preserved and Hoekenburg Park will remain intact. By choosing a new bicycle-friendly bridge, we’re taking a major step towards creating a better regional cycling route. In further planning for the bridge and the route, we’ll be paying close attention to traffic safety and enforcement.”
In recent years, significant investments have been made in the cycle route, including the Jan Linzel Viaduct over the A4 motorway and a cycle path through the Vlietzone. The current New Toll Bridge connecting to this route is a narrow, steep drawbridge for pedestrians and cyclists. The bridge is not designed for cyclists and can only be crossed safely by hand. Efforts have been underway for some time to find a solution for this unfriendly situation.
This search takes various interests into account. Participation revealed that residents support improved cycling connections and increased road safety, while preserving the historic Kippenbrug and adjacent Hoekenburg Park. The province of South Holland is closely involved as the bridge’s owner and waterway manager. Because the bridge is a national monument, the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands advises on necessary adjustments. Furthermore, the parties involved must consider the monumental value of Hoekenburg Park, which is located next to the bridge in Voorburg.
Moving ‘Chicken Bridge’
The municipality of Leidschendam-Voorburg wants to preserve the historic “Nieuwe Tolbrug” (New Toll Bridge) for its use. Therefore, an alternative location has been sought. By relocating the bridge to the Vliet River near Park Vreugd en Rust, it can remain open to pedestrians and create a new recreational connection from the Loozone to the Vlietzone and The Hague.
“All things considered, we believe this is the best solution,” says provincial administrator Jeroen van Dijken (Traffic and Transport). “A new bridge is an improvement for cyclists and waterway users. And the national heritage Nieuwe Tolbrug (New Toll Bridge) could look its best in a nearby park.”
Decision-making and participation
The designs for the new bicycle bridge and the integration of the historic bridge at Park Vreugd en Rust are being further developed. Residents and stakeholders are welcome to contribute their input.
A final decision to implement the design will follow after the municipal councils of Leidschendam-Voorburg, The Hague and the Provincial Council of South Holland have approved the plans.
Business owners on The Hague’s Paul Krugerlaan have established a business investment zone (BIZ) for the period 2026-2030. A BIZ is a defined area, such as a shopping district or business park, within which entrepreneurs and/or owners jointly invest in the quality of the surrounding area. Of the entrepreneurs who cast their votes (60%), 89% voted in favor of establishing a BIZ. This makes the Paul Krugerlaan BIZ the 30thBIZin The Hague.
Alderman Nur Icar (SME) announced the results during an iftar. “The results show that Paul Krugerlaan has a tremendous number of entrepreneurs who feel responsible for their surroundings. By investing together in a Business Development Zone (BIZ), they contribute to a stronger shopping area and are a serious discussion partner for the municipality. This milestone truly marks a new beginning for the street, and I’m incredibly proud of that.”
Treasurer Ali Akpinar, owner of the Basis E-markt on Paul Krugerplein, is also pleased with the outcome. “This is a real boost for the entire street. The fact that so many business owners voted in favor speaks volumes. We want to move forward together. This gives us the confidence to truly work towards a safe and strong Paul Krugerlaan in the coming years.”
The Hague BIZs
The Municipality of The Hague supports the establishment of Business Investment Zones (BIZs). Entrepreneurs and/or owners in a BIZ area develop a five-year plan and pay a BIZ contribution to the municipality. These contributions are then awarded annually as a BIZ subsidy to the BIZ association or foundation. With the establishment of Paul Krugerlaan, The Hague now has thirty business investment zones.
Photo & text: Municipality of The Hague
Translation to English: The Hague Online
Photo (from left to right): Anmol Bindra (secretary), Nur Icar (councilor for SMEs), Ali Akpinar (treasurer) and Soufiane Latrache (chair)
The municipal elections are just a week away. The Hague, approximately 440,000 eligible voters will be eligible to cast their ballots on March 18th. There are approximately 260 polling stations spread across the city, including City Hall, community centers, and schools. There are also several special locations where residents can cast their ballots. Voting will also open at two polling stations starting at midnight.
Residents who want to vote immediately at midnight can go to polling stations in the Boterwaag and Grote Markt in the city center. On Tuesday, March 17th, starting at 8:00 PM, “VerkiezingsNâch” (Election Night) will be held on Grote Markt, featuring live music, debates, and more. Night voting will take place at these polling stations from midnight until 2:00 AM.
From City Palace to Nightclub
For the first time, people can vote at the ZZIIN Stadspaleis (City Palace) during this municipal election. This historic building on Javastraat was where The Hague City Council met from 1912 to 1972. There will also be a polling station for the first time at the brand-new university campus on Spui. Polling stations can also be found at various museums, such as Muzee Scheveningen and the Kunstmuseum, and people can vote at Club Westwood.
Own Your Polling Station
Several youth polling stations will once again be available for the municipal elections. In 2023, Stagehuis Schilderswijk came up with the idea of having young people take over a polling station. This led to the “Own Your Polling Station” initiative, launched in collaboration with the municipality of The Hague. At these locations, young people serve as polling station members, promote the polling stations in advance, and decorate them.
For this election, Own Your Polling Stations are operating at eight locations. This is more than the five for last year’s Dutch parliamentary elections: Theater De Vaillant (operated by Internship House Schilderswijk), The Hague University of Applied Sciences, InHolland University of Applied Sciences, ROC Mondriaan Aspasialaan, and Wijkz Moerwijk. The three new locations are University Campus Spui (operated by Leiden University), Theater and Filmhuis Dakota (operated by Wijkz Morgenstond), and WeZijn Transvaal.
Kom op! for The Hague
To allow as many residents of The Hague as possible to vote on March 18th, there will be a polling station for every resident within an average of 370 meters of their home. To increase turnout, the municipal executive and city council have also developed the “Action Plan for Promoting Turnout.” As part of this plan, the “Kom op! voor Den Haag” (Come on! for The Hague) campaign was recently launched to motivate residents to vote.
Mayor Jan van Zanen: “Your voting card will arrive in the coming days. It’s your ticket to our democracy. There are approximately 260 polling stations in The Hague: from the community center around the corner to Madurodam and even a nightclub. There’s no shortage of options. Come on! For The Hague on March 18th.”
The number of people starting catering, meal service, or baking businesses from home continues to grow. More and more people are starting businesses from their own kitchens, often alongside their regular jobs. Conversations with new businesses reveal that many are not fully aware of the regulations they must comply with when working with food. An estimated 9 out of 10 new businesses are not sufficiently familiar with these requirements. Therefore, the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) and the Chamber of Commerce (KVK) are launching an information campaign.
Everyone who prepares, processes, or sells food is required to work with a HACCP food safety plan, also known as a hygiene code. This hygiene code outlines the rules for safe food handling. In addition, businesses must register with the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA). Many start-up businesses are unaware of these requirements before they begin production.
The role of media in the growing food hype
The popularity of cooking and baking is partly fueled by television programs like “Heel Holland Bakt” (The Great British Bake Off), cooking shows on platforms like 24Kitchen, Netflix baking shows, and the enormous amount of food content on social media. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok make it easy to promote cooking skills. Food content is one of the largest categories on social media.
Low-threshold start, but with unexpected obligations
This is why more and more amateur chefs are taking the plunge into entrepreneurship. The barrier to entry is low: many newcomers work from home, alongside a permanent job, and see their activity as an accessible way to earn extra money. But these newcomers often don’t realize that the same food safety regulations apply as those for professional kitchens.
Key figures and insights
The number of part-time home caterers—self-employed individuals who prepare meals or provide catering from their own kitchens alongside their regular jobs—has been growing for years. In January 2022, 4,332 were registered; in January 2026, that number had risen to 8,053.
In addition, the broader group of self-employed individuals who run a catering business entirely independently from home is also growing. Their number rose from 11,008 on January 1, 2022, to 16,839 at the beginning of this year. This is evident from figures from the Chamber of Commerce (KVK) Trade Register.
From conversations with starters, it appears that an estimated 9 out of 10 starters are not fully aware of food safety regulations.
Violations can lead to food safety risks, potential customer illnesses, and reputational damage. Warnings and fines may also be issued.
Information to better reach starters
To better reach this growing group, the KVK and NVWA have created a joint informational video. The video clearly explains the applicable rules, how new businesses can prepare for safe business practices, and how they can register with the NVWA. “We’re seeing an enthusiastic and growing group of home cooks and home bakers. You can start small, from home, without major investments. Consumers are also increasingly appreciating local, homemade, and artisanal food,” says KVK advisor Gerdine Annaars. “But some of these home caterers are unknowingly running risks due to a lack of essential knowledge. Therefore, good information is crucial. The video offers tools to get started well-prepared.”
Home baker on the importance of food safety
Rebecca Munster, ‘rebecbakt op Instagram’, is an enterprising home baker and featured in the video: “As a home baker, you naturally want everything you make to be safe. The hygiene code shows that many rules are actually quite logical, and that you often already comply with them unconsciously, such as washing your hands thoroughly and working cleanly. But there are also elements, such as HACCP, whose importance I hadn’t previously realized. With good information, you know exactly what to look for and can start working with confidence.”
The former ADS fields along Madesteinweg are being transformed into De Groene Kamer (The Green Room): a nature reserve the size of four football fields where dunes, grasslands, flowers, and water converge. Alderman Robert Barker planted the first shrubs yesterday in the presence of residents and involved organisations: “This will be a green oasis. Soon you’ll be able to see and hear frogs and nightingales here.”
The Green Room covers nearly 28,000 m² and will transform into a diverse and biodiverse landscape in the coming months. The area will feature moist meadows, herb-rich grassland, scrubland edges, and a pond. The newly planted scrub forms an important ecological link: it connects forest and open fields, provides food and shelter for birds and small mammals, and strengthens the ecological corridor from Zee to Zweth. In this way, a building materials storage facility is transformed into nature. Alderman Barker: “It’s unique that a site used as a building storage facility will soon be nature!”
New name
The new name, De Groene Kamer (The Green Room), was conceived by a resident of The Hague after the municipality asked for suggestions. Bert Stoutmijer came up with the idea for ‘De Groene Kamer’ (The Green Room), thus becoming the creator of the new name for this nature reserve. Alderman Barker emphasizes the importance of this development for The Hague: “In a densely populated city like The Hague, public space can sometimes be a struggle. Besides housing, it’s also important to create space for greenery and nature. Nature provides cleaner air and demonstrably makes people happier. And nature is a habitat for animals.”
Cooperation
The municipality is carrying out the development of The Green Room in consultation with AVN, Dunea, the Province of South Holland, Zuid-Hollands Landschap, the Delfland Water Board, local football and hockey clubs, the Loosduinen Commission, and local residents. Therefore, many parties attended the opening. With The Green Room, The Hague gains a valuable nature reserve that enhances both biodiversity and the quality of life in the city.
The municipality of Wassenaar has implemented a 30 km/h speed limit on the vast majority of roads within built-up areas. To officially ratify the measure, Alderman for Traffic Wim Koetsier recently unveiled the new 30 km/h traffic sign on Deijlerweg in Wassenaar.
The speed reduction is based on recommendations from the Citizens’ Traffic Advisory Council and is widely supported by the Wassenaar City Council. The introduction of the new speed limit will contribute to a more livable, safer, and quieter village, while maintaining Wassenaar’s accessibility.
The introduction of the 30 km/h speed limit is part of a broader national trend in which more and more municipalities are opting for lower speed limits within built-up areas. Cities such as Amsterdam, Haarlem, and recently Amersfoort have already preceded Wassenaar. More municipalities are expected to take this step during 2026 and 2027. Wassenaar is one of the first smaller municipalities to adopt the 30 km/h speed limit.With this measure, the municipality aims to further reduce the number of traffic accidents, increase safety for cyclists and pedestrians, and ensure less noise and more tranquility in residential streets. It also creates more space for active forms of mobility, such as walking and cycling.
“With a 30 km/h speed limit, we are making Wassenaar safer and more pleasant for everyone who moves around the village. This is an important decision based on the advice of our residents,” says Alderman for Traffic Wim Koetsier.
More liveability and safety The decision was made at the initiative of residents during the Citizens’ Consultation on Traffic. During this Citizens’ Consultation on Traffic, which concluded in June 2025, a large majority of participants recommended lowering the speed limit within built-up areas to 30 km/h. The municipal executive incorporated this recommendation into the revised Road Categorization Plan and presented it to the municipal council. The revised Road Categorization Plan was subsequently adopted by the municipal council with an overwhelming majority, on the condition that its implementation would have a limited impact on the village’s accessibility.
Alignment with national guidelines and research This plan wasn’t developed entirely independently, but aligns with national developments and guidelines. For example, research by SWOV (Foundation for Road Safety Research) and CROW (Centre for Regulations and Research in Civil Engineering, Hydraulic Engineering, and Traffic Engineering) was incorporated. The national government’s request to adopt a 30 km/h speed limit within built-up areas is also a factor.
Clear layout of the road network Starting Friday, February 27, the new speed limit applied to most roads in built-up areas. Five roads will retain their function as through traffic, and the 50 km/h speed limit will remain in effect there. An overview of the roads where the new limit applies can be found on the municipal website .
30 km/h becomes visible in the streetscape Preparations for the implementation have been underway for some time. The first new traffic signs with temporary stickers began being installed in early February, and road markings are being adjusted where necessary. The municipality is supporting the change with the publicity campaign ” This is our street too ,” which focuses on residents. Newsletters, local media, social media channels, posters, and street banners clearly display the new 30 km/h speed limit in Wassenaar. Starting today, a life-size street drawing can also be found on Deijlerweg to raise awareness of the new speed limit. Street drawings will follow next week on Van Zuylen van Nyeveltstraat, Backershagenlaan, and Lange Kerkdam.
Step by step towards different driving behaviour After implementation, there will be a transition period during which the focus will be on education and awareness. After that, enforcement will take place where necessary. No additional speed bumps will be installed that could hinder emergency services or public transport.From the outset, the municipality will monitor the effects on road safety, quality of life, and traffic flow. An evaluation of compliance with the new speed limit, traffic accidents, and meeting the standard times for emergency services will be conducted in the second quarter of 2027.
More information about the measure and the underlying plans can be found at: www.wassenaar.nl/30km
Featured image: Traffic Councillor Wim Koetsier unveiled a traffic sign with the new speed limit of 30 km/h on Deijlerweg in Wassenaar.
