Cycle route
The municipality of Opsterland, together with the Province of Fryslân and the municipalities of Heerenveen and Smallingerland, is creating a 'cycle route' between Drachten and Heerenveen. The route passes through the villages of Nij Beets, Tijnje, and Luxwoude. You can read more about this on this page.
Do you have any questions?
Do you have any questions about this topic? Please send your message to doorfietsroute@opsterland.nl.
What is a cycle route?
A through-cycle route is a comfortable cycle route for longer distances. You can cycle along it without having to stop very often. The route is wide, safe, and well constructed, and is primarily intended for people who cycle every day, for example to work or school. The through-cycle route ensures that cyclists can cycle outside built-up areas separately from motorized traffic.
What is the purpose of a cycle route?
We want to make cycling between Drachten, Heerenveen, and the villages of Nij Beets, Tijnje, and Luxwoude safe, attractive, and comfortable.
Comfortable: A through-cycle route ensures that cyclists can cycle in a relaxed and pleasant manner. Minimal vibrations, wide cycle paths, and clear right-of-way situations ensure that cyclists can cycle in a relaxed manner.
Attractive: A cycle route is an attractive route. This means that it is separated from motor traffic as much as possible and runs along busy roads as little as possible. It is a route that you enjoy cycling on.
Safe: A through-cycle route is a safe route for cycling. Separate cycle paths, cycle streets, and separate cycle and footpaths are measures that make cycling safer.
Background
In 2019, as part of the 2019-2023 Cycling Agenda, it was decided to investigate how we could improve existing recreational cycle routes in the municipalities of Opsterland, Ooststellingwerf, Weststellingwerf, Smallingerland, and Heerenveen. In addition, a possible cycle route between Heerenveen and Drachten was also considered.
In March 2023, the province of Fryslân awarded a subsidy of €5.4 million for the construction of this cycle route. Based on previous studies and advice from engineering firm Haskoning, the steering group (consisting of the aldermen of Smallingerland, Opsterland, and Heerenveen) determined the route and the measures to be taken.
February 6, 2026 Walk-in meetings
Thursday, February 5, was the last of three walk-in meetings about the cycle route that we organized in Luxwoude, Tijnje, and Nij Beets. Interested parties were able to view the preliminary designs for the cycle route and ask questions about them.
What happens next?
Residents were invited to respond to the preliminary design. The municipality is now carefully reviewing these responses. Where possible, we will incorporate comments and ideas into the design. We will be holding follow-up discussions in the coming period. We are also organizing a joint meeting with the owners of the plots bordering the draft plan. Among other things, we will be discussing whether land may be needed for the construction of the cycle path.
We will then continue working on the final design, which is scheduled to be completed in April 2026.
The links below refer to the designs.
Cycle route part 1: Swynswei Nij Beets
Cycle route part 2: Rolbrêgedyk, Breewei, Heawei Tijnje
Cycle route part 3: Hearrewei, Lúkster Heawei De Wispel, Tijnje - Luxwoude
January 14, 2026 Where are we now?
The municipality is currently working on the initial plans. This is known as the preliminary design phase. This preliminary design is now ready to be shared with local stakeholders in the villages, landowners, and the surrounding area.
Because the route consists of separate cycle paths, land acquisition will be necessary in some cases. Discussions are being held with landowners for this purpose.
January 14, 2026 Information meetings
We will inform residents and other stakeholders about the cycle route during three information evenings. During these walk-in meetings, we will show the preliminary designs for the cycle route, and members of the project team will be on hand to provide explanations.
Dates of information meetings
| Village | Date | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luxwoude | January 29 | 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. | The Meeting Point, Hegedyk 38A, Luxwoude |
| Nij-Beets | February 5 | 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. | It Trefpunt, Village Street 9, Nij Beets |
| Tijnje | February 2 | 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. | MFA Tijnje, Breewei 6C, Tijnje |
Documents related to the cycle route
- Cycling calendar - cycle routelink to PDF file 4MBRead aloud Cycling calendar - cycle route with ReadSpeaker docReader
- Cycle route 1link to PDF file17.2 MBRead aloud Cycling Route 1 with ReadSpeaker docReader
- Cycle route 1 detaillink to PDF file8.7 MBRead aloud Cycling route 1 detail with ReadSpeaker docReader
- Cycle route 2link to PDF file16.8 MBRead aloud Cycling Route 2 with ReadSpeaker docReader
- Cycle route 3link to PDF file17.2 MBRead aloud Cycling Route 3 with ReadSpeaker docReader
- Cycle route 3 detailslink to PDF file10.7 MBRead aloud Cycling route 3 detail with ReadSpeaker docReader
Downloading and opening a document
You can open a PDF file in various PDF readers, such as Adobe Reader.