On 17 December 2002, just before the Christmas holidays, Oppemstraat claimed the life of eleven-year-old Géraldine B. She was walking to school. A quarter of a century later, our mayors are still talking about studies, promises, and endless consultations.
“And I must say it was a very constructive meeting,” said current mayor Thomas Geyns (Voor Tervuren, OpenVLD) after talks with his counterpart from Wezembeek-Oppem, Nicolas Celis (Horizon). In his familiar style—one in which he enjoys highlighting his own efforts—Geyns stressed the importance of structural consultations with neighbouring municipalities, something he says his predecessors paid too little attention to.
Equally striking is the statement of former mayor Marc Charlier. Geyns’ immediate predecessor described the situation as “not particularly dangerous.” “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” said Charlier, now Mobility Alderman.
Sadly, both politicians ignore the reality of unsafe crossings and a busy junction where the speed limit suddenly jumps to 70 kilometres per hour.
A quarter-century of consultations, studies, and good intentions by mayors and aldermen alike, have yet to bring structural change. Parents continue to send their children to the Heilig Hart College with a heavy heart.
The risks for children walking or cycling to the school have been known for decades, certainly since the early 2000s. Meanwhile, traffic at the school remains as chaotic and dangerous as it was twenty years ago, when Géraldine was hit.
On 21 August 2001, further along the Leuvensesteenweg (N3), 41-year-old Stefaan W. lost his life while cycling. It is therefore all the more regrettable that the planned foot and cycle N3 path, bridging the dangerous missing link, has since been removed from Flanders’ priority infrastructure list.
The message to Tervuren’s walking and cycling children—and their parents? Wait a little longer. Perhaps until 2036.
The children of Tervuren do not need another study or consultation group. They need safe roads—today, not in the next administration.
If another child is hit tomorrow, it will not be an accident. It will be the tragic but predictable result of years of administrative delay and political cowardice.
