The car parks in Antwerp cannot handle the large influx of (Dutch) shoppers on Tuesday afternoon, which causes traffic jams everywhere in the center. Police are urging motorists to stay away from the city. ‘Park on the edge, that saves a lot of frustration and time.’
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The Antwerp police were forced to divert traffic to the Leien at various places in the city center on Tuesday afternoon. From there, motorists are advised to park on one of the park-and-rides on the outskirts of the city.
‘Everyone would like to park close to the center’, explains spokesman Wouter Bruyns of the local police. ‘People are waiting in vain at full parking garages. As a result, motorists who do want to continue driving will also get stuck. We can continue to raise awareness, but people are trying anyway.’
Bruyns also calls on all visitors for the coming days to park outside the city and from there to come to the center by public transport. ‘From wherever you come, be it from the Netherlands or elsewhere. It will save you a lot of frustration, instead of being stuck in a traffic jam for more than an hour, you can get there in half an hour by public transport. That is more feasible for everyone.’
Governor: ‘Can’t ban the Dutch entry’
If you live in Antwerp, you can’t ignore the many Dutch number plates on the access roads to the city. On Monday there was a five kilometer traffic jam at the Dutch-Belgian border, and on Tuesday morning there were also traffic jams from Breda to the E19 towards Antwerp.
Antwerp governor Cathy Berx repeated on Tuesday to The newspapaer that it will not take any additional measures to stop this foreign influx. “Just because it is not possible,” Berx explained to the newspaper on Monday. ‘From a legal point of view, we have few instruments because you are also allowed to make non-essential movements. That is why there is now a strong emphasis in Antwerp that the measures are followed properly. The catering businesses have already indicated that they consider this supervision important. But actually we are powerless for the rest.’
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