Tervuren’s street lighting will continue to switch off at midnight. Town officials recently rejected a proposal by French-speaking councillor Serge Liesenborghs (TervurenUnie+Volt) to keep public lighting on until 1am, notably to cover the last tram 44. Liesenborghs wanted at least the areas already equipped with LED lighting to remain lit.
The issue has dragged on for years. Liesenborghs recalled that his earlier proposals were repeatedly rejected for different reasons. In 2019, it was deemed technically unfeasible. “During the municipal council meeting of June 2022, the response was that [it] would cost the municipality €24,000 per year,” the French-speaking councillor said. He notes that in the meantime, a third of all streetlights have been replaced with LEDs, and that many other municipalities have already extended their lighting hours. Tervuren risks becoming the “only nocturnal black spot” in the province.
Alderman for Public Works Sebastiaan Coudré (Voor Tervuren, CD&V) offered a more nuanced view. According to him, Tervuren is still in the middle of the transition, and the current mixed system — with both old fixtures and LEDs on the same circuit — makes it impossible to switch or dim the lighting uniformly. “By the end of 2025, we will be at around 35% LED conversion in greater Tervuren,” says Coudré, grandson of a former mayor and son of a former alderman for Public Works.
Old lamps respond very differently to dimming than LEDs, which creates major differences in brightness along a single street. Only once entire circuits are renewed will it be possible to manage lighting street by street, said the alderman, who follows Tervuren tradition by combining his daytime job at an international engineering firm with his alderman’s mandate, which pays €59,882 per year.
‘Stupid article, that is’
During the council debate in October, Liesenborghs suggested a neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood approach, but alderpersons said this would be technically complex. The idea that the lights could stay on longer without increasing energy consumption is also incorrect, Coudré argued.
At the subsequent article-by-article vote, it became clear there was no political support. One alderman or the mayor was even overheard muttering about the proposal’s folly: “Stomartikel is dat.” All Flemish parties finally voted against the proposal by the French-speaking councilor to keep the street lighting on until 1am. At Groen+Vooruit, the vote was not without incident. Two female opposition councillors apparently became confused when voting one specific article, prompting council chair Mario Van Rossum to remark: “I understand that the ladies need to be able to follow.”
The proposal failed. And for the time being, Tervuren will remain dark at night.
