Erps-Kwerps (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The recent road changes on Zavelstraat in Erps-Kwerps, Kortenberg, including flower boxes, caused safety issues after a cyclist, aged 54, was injured. Resident Kenny and VA council members want the boxes removed.
As VRT News reported, the recent changes to Zavelstraat in Erps-Kwerps, a municipality in Kortenberg, in the province of Flemish Brabant, Belgium, were supposed to make the road safer and stop drivers from using it as a shortcut. The town put up speed cameras and big grey flower boxes in the middle of the road to slow cars down. This plan has caused problems.
A cyclist, aged 54, crashed into one of the flower boxes and got a head injury. This has made people worry about how safe the new design is. Resident Kenny says the flower boxes have already caused several dangerous situations. He says cars speed up past the boxes, then quickly slow down for the speed cameras, and then speed up again.
Do traffic-calming flower boxes in Erps-Kwerps endanger cyclists?
Political groups, like -VA, want the road changes looked at again because they think the road is now more dangerous. Hans Vanhoof, who is on the council, doesn’t like the flower boxes. He says they are in the middle of the road, so cyclists don’t know if they should go around them on the left or right. He also says the boxes are dark grey and hard to see.
People worry that the flower boxes might be making things worse, not better, by confusing cyclists and putting them in risky spots. They mentioned that traffic plans, even when they mean well, can cause problems if they don’t think about how people use the road. The boxes are hard to see, not placed well, and don’t give cyclists clear instructions, which makes people worried that cyclists might get injured.
Kenny, who lives nearby, wants the town of Kortenberg to do something about the flower boxes on Zavelstraat. After a cyclist got injured, he thinks the changes to slow down traffic aren’t working and could be dangerous. Kenny says the flower boxes should be taken away right now to keep people safe.
He wants the boxes gone because, even though they were supposed to stop cars from speeding, they are making the road unsafe for bikes and cars. Kenny believes the town should find other ways to fix the traffic problems without making the road dangerous.
The opposition party, VA, and Hans Vanhoof, a council member, agree with Kenny. They want the local government to think again about how Zavelstraat is set up. Vanhoof said that keeping everyone safe on the road is most important. He thinks the flower boxes and other things should be taken away for now.
He wants a plan that makes traffic safer without causing new problems. They want the town to be careful when they change the road to make sure it’s safer. The person in charge of traffic hasn’t said anything about it yet, so nothing has changed.
