Tree felling protest delays bus route

The HOV bus route (HOV stands for high-quality public transport) via the campus will be ready at the start of 2014 at the earliest. The project is being held up as a large number of trees need to be felled to make room for the route. The trees are in the Dassenbos wood in front of Rikilt. The bus route will be built to the north of the cycle path that runs from the Dijkgraaf to the Bornsesteeg. A total of 214 trees (large and small) along this route will need to be removed for the new bus route. The two large oaks in the field in front of Actio can stay. To compensate for the felling, new vegetation will be planted next to the Dassenbos and the Noordwest residential district. The environmental group Wagenings Milieu Overleg (WMO) thinks this is not enough and has lodged an objection. According to Ad van der Have (Facilities and Services), that objection is the only ‘issue’ holding up the new bus route. All stakeholders are agreed on the route and the implementation. Intensive negotiations are going on behind the scenes to reach a settlement with the WMO, province, municipality and Wageningen UR. They may well sort it out this week. In that case, Van der Have says they will be able to start felling the trees in September. It will take at least five months to build the bus route.