Re-stitching the City

The Groene Loper is the overall plan for the tunnelling of the A2 motorway in Maastricht, including a large new residential area for local residents, pedestrians and cyclists. The internationally important north-south motorway A2 (Belgian border/Maastricht – Amsterdam) ran right through the city, causing a large negative influence on the entire eastern part of the city. The overall goal of the project was broad: instead of only tackling a traffic problem, the project improved the accessibility of Maastricht and created a good traffic flow on and along the A2; increased road safety and quality of life, improving the liveability in the surrounding areas; created new urban design possibilities for neighbourhoods after removing the barrier of the motorway.

As part of the Avenue 2 consortium, West 8 designed the above-ground layout of De Groene Loper and drew up the urban master plan. The aim was to identify new opportunities for the city in social, economic and spatial terms. One-third of Maastricht’s 120,000 residents live east of De Groene Loper and never visited the area. The project included the drafting of the City and Rail Plan Study, which focuses on the relationship between the Groene Loper, the railway stations and the rest of the city. The project is designed for sustainable mobility, walking and cycling in both directions in the median of a new, much smaller road for motor traffic. With most of the traffic (80%) now in the tunnel, only one travel lane for motor traffic in each direction is required. Shifting the focus on space for people: only people who need to be in this particular area will use it, as all through traffic is now positioned underground.