ANTWERP | Plan for Meirbrug with car-free Kammenstraat and Groenplaats approved

On 2 March 2026, the City of Antwerp and the District of Antwerp authorities presented and approved the final design for the redevelopment of the streets surrounding the Groenplaats, including a new mobility plan for the Meirbrug. The revised circulation concept reshapes traffic flows in the historic city centre and confirms that the upper section of the Nationalestraat, between Kammenstraat and Groenplaats, will become fully car-free.

The plans form part of the continued realisation of theVia Sinjoor, the city’s flagship pedestrian axis linking Antwerp-Central Railway Station with the River Scheldt at Steenplein.

Conceived as a high-quality, largely car-light walking boulevard through the heart of the city, the Via Sinjoor has long been a political priority aimed at creating a safer, more attractive urban centre. While major sections have already been completed, two key ‘missing links’ remained: the complex traffic situation at the Meirbrug and Schoenmarkt, and the connection towards the Scheldt Quays near the Suikerrui.

The newly approved design addresses the first of these bottlenecks. Earlier ambitions to ‘cut’ the Meirbrug entirely to through traffic have been replaced with a simplified circulation model after additional traffic studies.

Requests to reintroduce full north–south and south–north car traffic across the Meirbrug prompted a fresh analysis, which concluded that reverting to the previous configuration would generate additional conflict points between cars, pedestrians, cyclists and trams. It would also require a complex system of traffic lights, undermining the ambition of turning the Via Sinjoor into a coherent and safe pedestrian route.

Under the new concept, the Meirbrug will retain a clear but limited local traffic function. In future, only traffic between the Huidevettersstraat and the Sint-Katelijnevest, and vice versa, will be permitted. By restricting movements and simplifying crossings, the city aims to create a safer and more legible environment for all users, while avoiding the need for elaborate signalisation.

Shoe Market

One of the most visible changes is the complete pedestrianisation of the Schoenmarkt. The street will be redesigned from façade to façade as an exclusively car-free zone for pedestrians, cyclists and trams, in line with the status of the nearby Meir shopping street.

Tram services will continue to operate through the Schoenmarkt, but private cars will disappear from the streetscape. This intervention creates additional space for pedestrians and cyclists and opens up opportunities for terraces, particularly along the side of the Boerentoren.

National Street

The Nationalestraat will also undergo a significant transformation.

The section between the Kammenstraat and the Groenplaats will become fully car-free, as originally envisaged in earlier plans.

This change is made possible by the introduction of a redesigned parking route that maintains accessibility to the numerous underground car parks in the city centre without routing through traffic directly across the Groenplaats area.

In the Sint-Katelijnevest and the Huidevettersstraat, a single carriageway for bidirectional traffic will be created, shared by trams, cars and cyclists. Meanwhile, the Groenkerkhofstraat and a short section of the Kammenstraat will accommodate a two-way access road providing entry to the Brabo and Groenplaats car parks.

Parking facilities

Ensuring continued access to parking facilities has been a central concern throughout the negotiations.

Parking Meir will connect in both directions to the northern parking route via Beggaardenstraat, Sudermanstraat and Eiermarkt. Parking Brabo, Groenplaats and surrounding car parks, including Lombardia, Centrum, Cammerpoorte and Oudaan, will be linked to a redesigned southern parking route running via Kasteelpleinstraat, Nationalestraat, Lombardenvest, Lombardenstraat, Oudaan and Lange Gasthuisstraat.

Through the Lange Gasthuistunnel, this route connects directly to the major arterial axis of Van Eycklei and Plantin en Moretuslei, thereby safeguarding regional accessibility.

From the junction of Nationalestraat and Lombardenvest, the Brabo and Groenplaats car parks will be accessible in both directions via Kammenstraat and the narrow Groenkerkhofstraat. Parking Oudaan will be reached via Komedieplaats and Huidevettersstraat. By concentrating car movements along these clearly defined routes, the city can free the most northern stretch of Nationalestraat for pedestrians while maintaining logical access for motorists heading to car parks.

Public transport

The new traffic situation also has implications for public transport. The tram stop originally planned for Nationalestraat will instead be relocated to the Groenplaats, where tram platforms will remain positioned opposite each other.

This ensures that passengers will continue to use one clearly identifiable ‘Groenplaats’ stop without having to cross car traffic. The simplified layout is expected to improve tram flow and reliability, as well as overall traffic safety at the crossing of the Via Sinjoor.

Reactions

According to Mobility Alderman Koen Kennis (N-VA), the design guarantees a smooth and comprehensible circulation pattern for all modes of transport. Pedestrians, cyclists, trams and motorists heading for car parks are each given a clear and logical route. By carefully structuring the public domain, the city intends to guide traffic streams in a natural way, making the environment around Groenplaats not only safer but also more pleasant and accessible.

Alderman for Urban Development Patrick Janssens (Vooruit) emphasised that the mobility plan is inseparably linked to the comprehensive redesign of the Groenplaats itself. The square, one of Antwerp’s most important central public spaces, will be renewed both above and below ground from spring 2027 onwards. The project includes the renovation of the underground car park and premetro station, the construction of a spacious underground bicycle parking facility and a rainwater buffer, and the complete redesign of the square’s surface.

“Attractive meeting place for residents and visitors alike”

The Groenplaats will be reshaped as an attractive meeting place for residents and visitors alike, with more climate-resilient trees, additional seating and a clear spatial layout. By pedestrianising the Schoenmarkt and part of the Eiermarkt, the city aims to strengthen the Via Sinjoor as a continuous, comfortable walking axis between the central station and the Scheldt.

The political path towards this compromise has not been straightforward. Earlier plans under the previous administration included a depressed roadway, quickly dubbed the Kaaitunnel, at the Scheldt quays near the Suikerrui, designed to allow uninterrupted pedestrian movement from the Suikerrui to the Steenplein.

That project, however, was removed from the new governing agreement under pressure from coalition partner Vooruit, despite strong support from N-VA. Because the proposed ‘cut’ of the Meirbrug had been functionally linked to the construction of the quays tunnel, both projects were ultimately shelved. In the absence of the tunnel, a full closure of the Meirbrug to north–south traffic was deemed unfeasible.

“A balanced alternative”

The newly approved circulation plan is therefore presented as a balanced alternative: no full ‘cut’ of the Meirbrug, but a substantial simplification of its traffic function within a broader strategy of reducing car dominance in the city centre.

Janssens described the plan as a marked improvement on earlier designs from the previous legislative term, pointing in particular to the full pedestrianisation of the Schoenmarkt as a clear gain for the city.

Works on the Groenplaats and the surrounding streets, including Schoenmarkt, Zwaluwstraat, Eiermarkt, Meirbrug, Beddenstraat, Huidevettersstraat, Sint-Katelijnevest, Israelietenstraat, Groenkerkhofstraat, the northern section of Kammenstraat and the northern section of Nationalestraat, are scheduled to begin in spring 2027.

To inform residents and stakeholders, the city will organise a public information market on Monday 9 March from 20:00 to 22:00, where the plans can be examined in detail and questions addressed to specialists. Further information will also be made available via the city’s official project website.

With this decision, Antwerp takes a decisive step in completing a new segment of the Via Sinjoor and in reshaping the historic heart of the city into a safer, greener and more pedestrian-oriented urban landscape, while maintaining structured accessibility to its central parking infrastructure.

Trip By Trip