Research is underway to make part of De Coninckplein car-free (Antwerp)
“When will De Conicnkplein finally be made traffic-free?” That’s what Tim Jensen, manager of coffee bar Viggo’s on the square, wondered last week when he was hit by a car just before his full terrace and was ‘luckily’ ‘only’ slightly injured. “It has been good,” says Jensen. Paul Cordy, mayor of the district of Antwerp (N-VA) says that an investigation must be drawn up.
Elien Van Wynsberghe
There used to be a plan to partly have cars on De Coninckplein. In 2010, the urban company AG Stadsplanning made a note on De Coninckplein. “The project definition for an improved car-free redevelopment of the square was approved by the Antwerp district in June 2011”, says then district mayor Chris Anseeuw (sp.a), who is no longer politically active today. More specifically, it concerned the north side of the square where café Kiebooms and coffee bar Viggo’s are located.
“Its implementation was made dependent on the district circulation plan for Antwerp North, which was also completed in that year,” says Anseeuw. “But just before the elections, the then alderman of Mobility Ludo Van Campenhout did everything on hold.Elections followed. The composition of the city council changed and the plans for De Coninckplein were definitively rejected by the new city council and the cabinet of aldermen Koen Kennis in 2013.
But it’s not going great on the square today. “Fortunately, both the child and the driver escaped unscathed”, Tim Jensen about the accident that occurred the previous week. “It is high time that action was taken here. You see that horses make more families of the square. Children come here to play. The square can certainly be made traffic-free on one side. It will not be a simple puzzle. I do believe that. But something has to be done.”
New research underway
Anseeuw sees the fact that the plans were scrapped as a missed opportunity. “The square would be redeveloped in function of the people who use it. It was a shame that we were called back.”
Maarig district mayor Paul Cordy (N-VA) now says that an investigation is underway to see whether the square can be tackled. “In conjunction with the Lange Beeldekensstraat”, says Cordy. “Making part of the square car-free can be a solution here, but I’m not going to get ahead of things. It is not the case that the situation on De Coninckplein today is completely unacceptable, but there are opportunities to do more with the square. But then in conjunction with a number of parameters so that we will not have more misery in others.”