Singing Road Drives Dutch
A road that automatically performs the anthem of Frisian province (the Netherlands) every time a car goes crazy drives the inhabitants of the village of Jelsum. Leeuwarden city management, which becomes European Capital of Culture in 2018, decides that the idea of the music road is good, as drivers driving at too high a speed are decreasing to hear the anthem. But the cacophony, which is mostly formed when more than one vehicle passes, directly cries the locals.
The installation, which is activated as soon as tires roam a row of white strips on the asphalt, runs from Friday night. "The Friesian anthem is nice, but not when you have to listen to it 24 hours a day," says RTL Nieuws Seitze Jansma, who lives only 200 m from the N357. "I'm just crazy - I can not sit outside, and I can not sleep anymore."
Local residents are accustomed to the noise, as their village is home to an Air Force base where fighters constantly take off and land. "But I prefer the planes ahead of it," says Alice Timmersma, Leeuwarder Courant. "At least stop it after 17 hours!". Among the many complaints, the rulers decided to dismantle the installation where 80,000 euros were invested. The road in Holland is not the first singing in the world - in California, residents are also protesting for an "asphalt vocal" whose destiny is the same ...