Easter holidays may have given some respite but increased traffic perturbation and fervent building are not abating soon. “People are fed up with all these construction sites. We’re blocked in all directions,” councilor Geoffroy de Visscher told the last town council. The major frustration is closure of Tervurenlaan lanes during peak traffic with no construction activity apparently taking place.
De Visscher also wonders if there’s a lack of coordination between works for the tram 44 line, Leonard tunnel, Duisburgsesteenweg, Brusselsesteenweg and on the Hoornzeelstraat, opposite the great Italian Il Carrettino.
“I understand the frustration,” mobility alderman Bram Peters says. But the administration is trying to do its best within strict limits. “Although the municipality must effectively issue the permit, as long as it’s within our territory, powers are not absolute,” adds Bram. And contractors are “very busy people” who work “as efficiently as possible”.
“I share in the misery.”
Tervuren mayor Marc Charlier (NV-A).
“The entire Tervurenlaan, up to the Vier-Armenkruispunt, is [restricted] to one lane. And nothing is happening. That is particularly frustrating for the people sitting there, from morning to evening, bumper to bumper,” says Geoffroy. The opposition councillor (Tervuren Unie) wants construction works to take place in a “more dynamic way”, opening road sections, if they’re not being worked on.
Working dynamically, forget it
“Working dynamically, with all due respect, forget it. It’s just not going to work,” says Bram Peters (Groen+). The mobility alderman points first of all to the difficulties of placing road signs. “That’s an enormous task on our part to keep track of, and every change goes wrong,” Bram says.
“I share in the misery,” says mayor Marc Charlier.
Marc is more amenable to opposition councilor Geoffroy’s suggestions, notably that of shortening the construction area at the top of the Tervurenlaan, near Vier-Armen. “We will certainly take into account the suggestion you make to shorten the construction area at the end of the construction zone so that people who need to turn right can still reach the lights,” Marc says.
A further cause of misery and frustration are the concrete blocks intended to prevent heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) from passing through ‘Checkpoint Tervuren’ on the Duisburgsesteenweg. The blocks must be continually reinstated to a width of 2.5 meters. Persistent knocking by heavy and even smaller motorized vehicles apparently displaces the concrete onto the cycle path. That craftily creates a wide enough passage for lorries over 3.5 tons and longer than 6 meters to pass.
© 2024. Photos and article are licensed by Tervuren+ under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
Dafydd ab Iago
Editor