The first section of Slingelaan was laid out in 1936 and ran between Willemstraat and what is now Beeklaan. This followed an earlier partial alteration of the course of the Slingebeek.
Where the Slinge had previously meandered, the HBS secondary school was built in 1959. Slingelaan was initially called Slingestraat, but when plans for new streets and street names were adopted in 1955, the newspaper Tubantia reported:
“The present Slingestraat, which runs from Willemstraat partly alongside the Slingebeek, is intended in future to be extended as far as Stationsstraat near the Koembrug. The municipal executive proposes dropping the name Slingestraat and giving the entire road the name Slingelaan.”
The old and new situations can be compared clearly on Topotijdreis.