The two sisters who died after being hit by a truck at an Antwerp intersection were already buried in Putte in the Netherlands on Tuesday evening. Today the Belgian newspaper Nieuwsblad unpacks with the story by mobility expert Dirk Lauwers (UA). A week before the start of the new school year, the Antwerp population is terrified. The two Antwerp sisters died under a truck. Last month, Flemish Minister of Mobility Lydia Peeters (Open VLD) announced that conflict-free intersections will become the norm in Flanders. Only if there really is no other option will it be deviated from. 

Tragically, the intersection where the two sisters died was also made conflict-free in Antwerp, but that arrangement was scaled back when it turned out that it was causing lengthy car traffic jams. According to Koen Baumers if that was the case, if those two children had crossed the same street at the beginning of the summer holidays, that truck would have been waiting neatly behind a red light at that time. The intersection where they died had been modified to separate pedestrians and vehicles, but the city of Antwerp reversed that modification on 8 July. 

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the defeat in the Jewish neighborhood in Antwerp is great

Alderman Koen Kennis announced on the day of the accident that the adjustment had been reversed because "it was determined that the emergency services driving out of the Sint-Vincentius hospital ensured that the original lighting arrangement was the best option". The hospital denied on Wednesday that it had asked for that adjustment, to which Kennis clarified that "we determined that ourselves". Instead of expressing his sympathy, Kennis told untruths, much to the dismay of Groen and PVDA, who immediately saw reason to request the dismissal of the aldermen after this great drama for the Jewish family.

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At 9.15 am the children in the Lange Leemstraat were crossing the street at the zebra crossing, when the traffic light turned green. At that moment a truck from a container company came from the Sint-Vincentiusstraat, and turned left into the Lange Leemstraat. According to witnesses, the driver would have noticed the children, and he would have stopped to let them cross.

“Good measures are still too often scaled back because drivers were stuck in traffic for longer. If we want to significantly improve road safety, the many privileges for the car must finally be overhauled.”

Instead of resolutely opting for the safety of pedestrians and cyclists when reconstructing a street, Lauwers sees in many files that priority continues to be given to the smooth flow of the car. According to the mobility expert City centres, village centers and residential areas must be made much more car-free. Allow fewer cars. The speed of the cars in those areas must be drastically reduced. The Fietsersbond has been complaining about the non-conflict-free intersections for some time.

Also read: After yet another accident, the bridge in Assenede is really on the way

Accident with truck in Antwerp
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