Last week, the City of Antwerp installed digital information kiosks near the Meir. When it is too busy to cycle or scooter, they automatically jump in and ask them to continue on foot.

In this way, the city council wants to improve safety in Antwerp’s busiest shopping street and guarantee a pleasant shopping experience.

The City of Antwerp claims to be the first city to tackle cycling in shopping areas at busy times with the help of a Smart City application.

Thanks to sensors that perform anonymous pressure measurements, busier moments are observed. Then the pillars are switched on and a clear message appears on the digital panels of four square meters each. This should help change the behavior of cyclists and scooters, so that they continue their journey on foot. This is a provisional set-up, with a positive evaluation this will be rolled out even further.

Koen Kennis (N-VA), alderman for Mobility and Small Businesses: “Whoever comes to shop in Antwerp should be able to do so in complete comfort. We have previously limited the maximum speed of shared scooters in busy places, including here on the Meir. I also refer to the drop zones for shared scooters and bicycles, so that they can no longer be left behind everywhere. For the same reason, we ask cyclists to adapt to the crowds on the Meir. Those who still want to cycle can do so via the parallel streets.”

In newspapers, alderman Kennis has admitted it will not be enforced. So it remains to be seen if the kiosks will have any effect.

This project is a collaboration between the City of Antwerp and Thomas More University of Applied Sciences. With the support of the Flemish (VLAIO) and European government (ERDF).