Holsbeek (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Since summer 2024, Gravenstraat residents like Christophe Willems have faced parking issues due to roadworks. Despite a temporary agreement, police issued €70 fines in Langestraat on March 21, 2025.
Gravenstraat, Holsbeek, Belgium, has been under construction since the summer of 2024. This has made it difficult for residents to park their cars. Residents living on the street, including Christophe Willems, cannot park their vehicles in their private driveways or along the public road.
The mayor told residents they could park in Langestraat, a street where parking is usually not allowed. The mayor said the city would make this official. The residents understood this to mean that they would not face penalties for parking in Langestraat during the construction period. They started parking there. They expected the city to put up signs or tell them more about the new parking rules.
Why are Gravenstraat residents getting fined for parking in Langestraat?
On March 21, 2025, police gave parking tickets to cars parked in Langestraat. The tickets cost almost 70 euros. Christophe Willems thinks a nearby garden center complained because their trucks couldn’t get through the street. Residents think the police didn’t know about the temporary parking agreement. They also think the city didn’t put up any signs. Residents feel they were unfairly ticketed because the city didn’t talk to the police. They are upset and want the tickets to be canceled or an explanation.
Residents of Gravenstraat are upset about the parking tickets they received in Langestraat. They contacted Mayor Bram Van Baelen to complain. The mayor acknowledged the temporary parking agreement, confirming that residents of Gravenstraat are indeed allowed to park in Langestraat while their street is under construction. However, he emphasized that this exception does not mean they can ignore all traffic rules.
He clarified that while parking is temporarily tolerated in Langestraat, residents are still required to comply with standard road rules, such as not parking in dangerous or obstructive spots. The mayor also advised residents who felt they were fined unfairly to formally contest the fines through the proper legal channels.
Some residents got parking tickets even though they were allowed to park in Langestraat. Police say it’s not okay to park where the road is divided by a solid white line. They mentioned that this is because it can be dangerous for traffic and block big vehicles like those from the garden center.
Christophe Willems, a resident, thinks the police are wrong. He says there weren’t clear signs or instructions about where people could and couldn’t park. He thinks residents were told they could park anywhere in Langestraat, and now they are being punished for something they didn’t know about.
“The police state that it is clear that parking is not allowed in the Langestraat and that the street lines and signs indicate this. However, this is not the case. Due to the ongoing works, most of the signs are not visible, and there are no longer any clear street lines. It is, therefore a pity that the police have not attempted to investigate the situation,”
Concludes Christophe.
