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Dordrecht - Staart Oost (Haringvlietstraat)

The Haringvlietstraat is a road located on the Staart: the most northern district of Dordrecht. The district is outside the dikes and lies between the rivers the Wantij and the Beneden Merwede. There is a lot of greenery and water on the edges of the district, but the residential core is very grey and there is a lot of industry in the vicinity. 

The Haringvlietstraat is the neighbourhood access road for the east part of the Staart (Staart-Oostt) and is around 1.2 km long. It is a two-way asphalt road along which sidewalks and parking spaces are located. Within the ring of the Haringvlietstraat is a grey residential core. The traffic is mainly local traffic, the bus and supply of the adjacent residential care center. Cyclists share the road with the cars or cross the road to cycle along the Wantij. There is little green along the road.

The main environmental challenge is the vicinity of the industry, affecting the air-, water- and soil-quality. The soil is contaminated with PFAS, which sometimes requires remediation (specific details about this will have to still be gathered). In addition, the urban heat island effect in the grey residential core is high and results in heat stress.

The main social challenge is to make the inhabitants feel heard, while greening their neighbourhood. The inhabitants of the Staart often feel disadvantaged compared to other inhabitants of the city. The district is quite remote and the bus connection is not ideal. This results in many residents using the car.

Interventions

  • We want to create more space for biodiverse greenery along the road, including more trees where possible. This is important for promoting biodiversity and also helps against heat stress.
  • We will develop green-blue structures that effectively connect the nature areas (Biesbosch) with seminatural (parks and recreational areas) with the residential areas in Dordrecht; a bike route alongside the river Wantij (River as a Tidal Park) could be part of this as well.
  • Enhancing the quantity and quality of habitats of local wildlife, especially for the habitats forests, water streams and city ecology, is another goal. 
  • Doing research on the presence of plant and animal species in the pilot area, we will focus on mobile insects (butterflies, bees), macrofauna and mammals. We start to measure the presence of wildlife before we start executing all measures that are necessary to enhance the biodiversity and to form robust and big green blue structures in the pilot area. 
  • We investigate mammals by placing cameras in public areas and backyards. The camera senses movement and will take a picture of the animal at that moment. Macrofauna (including larvae of different small insects like mosquitoes) are present in the water systems and are an indicator for water quality. After we have executed the plans in the pilot area we will repeat the investigations the same way as described above. In this way we can analyse if we have enhanced the biodiversity and what we can do, if necessary, to adjust the plans so we create more suitable habitats for wildlife.

Objectives & Expected Impact

  • The main objective is to make the Staart a green and healthy living environment, for people, animals and plants. This includes more (space for) biodiversity, better air quality and a stronger social network. Greening of the Haringvlietstraat is an important step to interact with the residents and to lay a green foundation in Staart-Oost. 
  • We have biodiversity and climate scans, air quality measurements and social data of Staart-Oost.