Why This Singing Road In The Netherlands Was Scrapped After Two Days

A singing road installed outside the village of Jelsum in the Netherlands has been retired after two days due to noise complaints. The road in question was meant to honour the surrounding region’s culture, but instead, caused headaches among its residents.
Jelsum is located in the northern Dutch province of Friesland and borders 2018’s European Capital of Culture, Leeuwarden. Although the province is part of the Netherlands, the people of Friesland have a distinct cultural identity and around 55% of its population speak West Frisian, rather than Dutch, as their native language. Leeuwarden was awarded the title of European Capital of Culture partly due to Friesland’s cultural autonomy and other towns, villages and cities in the province will organise special events related to the project throughout 2018.

Jelsum’s local authorities, for instance, decided to spruce up an otherwise unremarkable road by adding pressure strips to its hard shoulder that sang the Frisian provincial anthem ‘De Alde Friezen’ when run over in succession. Aside from singing an ode to Friesland, these strips were added in order to alert drivers who had veered onto the shoulder and remind them that they should return to the main section of the road. This massive, musical instrument essentially functioned like an enormous, modified piano with its keys set out specifically to play the Frisian anthem.

Although it was meant to prevent people from using the shoulder inappropriately, the project apparently had the opposite effect, as some drivers deliberately sped down the musical part of the road to hear it sing. People living nearby weren’t impressed by this seemingly harmless project and had to endure incessant, random bursts of song without pause (even during the early hours of the morning). Thankfully, for the residents involved, the local government responded quickly to their complaints and silenced the singing road around 48 hours after its debut performance.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.