Trees for the first time in 145 years for the stony Menno van Coehoornstraat

The Menno van Coehoornstraat near the station in Breda (NL) was a stony street without a sprig of green for 145 years. For the first time in its existence, the street will have trees. 18 Magnolias connected to a water retention system. “Shadow is welcome. It is a baking oven in summer.

As part of the development of the Stationskwartier, with the new station in the center, the municipality has given the Spoorbuurt a quality boost. This impulse reinforces the positive character of the Spoorbuurt as a living and working area between the railway and the center of Breda. The Menno van Coehoornstraat is the last street in a whole series of redevelopments within the Stationskwartier. Previously, Willemstraat and Meerten Verhofstraat were also transformed.

Characteristic

In consultation with the residents of the Menno van Coehoornstraat, a design was made for the new interior. A large part of the materials was also used in other streets in the Stationskwartier. These are all furnished in accordance with the characteristics of the 19th century neighbourhood: pavement tiles with basalt, natural stone curbstones, baked clinkers in the road and stately street lighting. The residents have actively contributed ideas, especially about the way in which greenery has been dealt with.

Design

The Menno van Coehoornstraat will be designed as a one-way street from Stationsweg to Delpratsingel. The roadway will be narrowed to four meters, so that cyclists can pass in two directions and cars in one direction. There will be a longitudinal parking strip on both sides of the roadway with green areas with trees and hedges in between. Sidewalks would become unnecessarily wide because of the narrower roadway. Partly on the basis of climate adaptation, the starting point is not to make more paving than necessary. That is why there will be a green strip with low-growing vegetation between the parking strip and the facade.

Climate adaptation and sustainability

An important starting point for all projects in CrossMark is to give substance to the objectives that the city of Breda has in the field of climate adaptation. The new design of the Menno van Coehoornstraat will include eighteen new trees (Magnolia). These are planted in special tree bunkers with a water cell on top of the tree bunker. In this, water is initially retained and then dosed to the tree growth site below.