‘We are now in Charlois and on our way to tram stop Van Blommensteynweg. There we will lay the last smoke-free tiles. These are tiles that indicate that smoking is not allowed in that spot. Once I have laid the tiles here, there will be a total of about 300 at all tram stops in the city,’ begins Van Rijswijk from his van. He is sitting next to his colleague Danny Admiraal.

At the Van Blommensteynweg stop, they get out of the van. Van Rijswijk explains what they are doing. ‘First, we remove two tiles from the platform. That’s quite simple now, but it’s not always so. Sometimes the tiles are so stuck that we have to break them with a crowbar. Then we lay the smoke-free tiles in. We secure them firmly in the sand with a rubber mallet. Finally, we sweep everything clean with a broom.’

‘We spread each other’s sandwiches’ 

Once the tiles are in place, the pavement makers drive on to the next job. Van Rijswijk: ‘We often work in pairs. It’s faster, but also safer. We often rotate with colleagues. This way, you get to know each other well. With Danny, it clicks really well. We spread each other’s sandwiches during lunch, haha. We usually talk about cars, we both have an American car. And we love good food.’‘We are now in Charlois and on our way to tram stop Van Blommensteynweg. There we will lay the last smoke-free tiles. These are tiles that indicate that smoking is not allowed in that spot. Once I have laid the tiles here, there will be a total of about 300 at all tram stops in the city,’ begins Van Rijswijk from his van. He is sitting next to his colleague Danny Admiraal.

At the Van Blommensteynweg stop, they get out of the van. Van Rijswijk explains what they are doing. ‘First, we remove two tiles from the platform. That’s quite simple now, but it’s not always so. Sometimes the tiles are so stuck that we have to break them with a crowbar. Then we lay the smoke-free tiles in. We secure them firmly in the sand with a rubber mallet. Finally, we sweep everything clean with a broom.’

‘We spread each other’s sandwiches’ 

Once the tiles are in place, the pavement makers drive on to the next job. Van Rijswijk: ‘We often work in pairs. It’s faster, but also safer. We often rotate with colleagues. This way, you get to know each other well. With Danny, it clicks really well. We spread each other’s sandwiches during lunch, haha. We usually talk about cars, we both have an American car. And we love good food.’

Christmas trees throughout the city

Van Rijswijk has previously laid tiles with a QR code throughout the city. ‘If you scan such a code, you read and learn about the history of the street. I find that beautiful.’ Van Rijswijk also talks about another job: ‘At Christmas, we put Christmas trees all over the city. Residents requested those through OpzoomerMee. Then we naturally wear a Santa hat to get into the festive spirit. Nice, right?’

Holes in the road

The daily work of Van Rijswijk and his colleagues mainly consists of handling reports from residents. For example, about loose sidewalk tiles or holes in the road. ‘These holes often arise due to heavy rain showers and leaking sewers. But tree roots also push the tiles out of the ground. Sometimes a motorist has driven a post out of the ground, then I repair that too. It’s good that residents report these kinds of things because then we can do something about it. This way, we keep the road nice and safe for everyone.’

Various reactions

Van Rijswijk enjoys his work. ‘We almost always work outside, and that makes it extra fun. People often respond positively to what we do.’ They sometimes say: how quickly you are to repair this. Or: how neat it looks again.’

‘Most reactions are therefore positive, but that is not always the case,’ says Van Rijswijk. ‘Recently, I parked the van on the side of the road, just after a roundabout. I was repairing a hole in the road there. But yes, I was a bit in the way for others. They could just get by with the car. One motorist got very angry about it. I received a lot of curse words thrown at me. I took a deep breath and drove away. When he was gone, I went back to continue repairing the hole.’

Fortunately, such reactions are an exception, and Van Rijswijk continues to enjoy his work. ‘I am proud of what we make. At the end of the day, I often look back and think: we did a great job again.’

More information

Have you been inspired by this story and want to know what vacancies are available at the Municipality of Rotterdam? Then check www.werkenvoorrotterdam.nl. Link opens an external page.