Road safety solution: The Berekuil

De Poort van Baarn, with the locally famous Escher roundabout near Kasteel Groeneveld, has been a bottleneck for traffic safety and traffic flow on the N221 on the northwest side of Baarn for years. There was a great need for a solution that would improve road safety while ensuring a smooth flow for cyclists and motorised traffic. In the first phase, four possible variants were examined. Ultimately, ‘The Berekuil’ was chosen—a solution with two roundabouts and a grade-separated cyclist connection. Iv has further developed this chosen variant into a preliminary design.

The project required a solution that considered traffic safety, traffic flow, and landscape integration. Together with the province of Utrecht, Iv developed a way of working in which the municipality of Baarn, Staatsbosbeheer, entrepreneurs Noordschil, Fietsersbond and Veilig Verkeer Nederland were intensively involved. The design had to be safe and comfortable for cyclists and motorised traffic while fitting well with the surrounding environment. Iv developed the preferred variant of a grade-separated turbo roundabout, the ‘Berekuil variant’, into a preliminary design that integrates all critical aspects such as traffic safety, traffic flow and landscape integration.

This design offers a traffic-safe and widely supported solution for a location where cyclists and motorised traffic come together. The Berekuil provides a fast, safe connection for cyclists and pedestrians and supports policy goals such as the mobility transition and sustainable mobility, thus stimulating bicycle and pedestrian traffic. At the same time, the landscape value of the area remains intact, and the Berekuil functions as a landmark in the landscape, which is greatly appreciated by the surroundings.