Police checks have been strengthened to ensure security, prevent nuisance and recall the rules of good manners, such as the bare toe circulating outside the dike. A device that will also be in place this weekend.
Books, crowded beaches, waste …: access to the Belgian coast soon limited?
A canine unit in Blankenberge
Knokke is not the only one to organize: in Ostend, beach brigades are mobilized as soon as the crowd promises to be, just like in Blankenberge, which deploys patrols and even a canine unit on crowds.
Throughout the coast, the municipalities are preparing similar measures to manage attendance peaks linked to heat waves. We also learn that a more detailed heat plan will be presented in Ostend next week. And if we do not know the details of the project at this stage, the Kennedy roundabout towards the center could be temporarily closed if there are too many people.
The idea seems the same everywhere: limit the number of tourists (especially a day) in the best known places, with a deterrent plan. It will therefore be necessary to think of plans B to move, first. And why not think of the tram, which serves all the coast stations, from breakdown to Knokke? The right plan is to park in a quiet location between two stations and then take the tram to your favorite beach.
Knokke takes a drastic measure for this summer: “Three kilometers on foot, it is doable for the majority of people”
More trains at the SNCB
On the SNCB side, as is often the case during the beautiful weekends an extended offer. “Thirteen additional trains will circulate on Saturday and Sunday in both directions, tells us Vincent Bayer, spokesperson for the SNCB. These trains will obviously drive in both directions, between Brussels and the stations of Ostend and Blankenberge.”
The spokesperson also recalls some useful tips. “We recommend planning your trip well, checking the schedules and avoiding the most busy hours, between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., and between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.. All information on trains attendance is available via our travel planner.”
More than 100 police interventions during a very busy May 1st in Ostend
Variable geometry attendance
It is also an opportunity to move to less frequented beaches, where you can find some calm throughout the summer. To do this, we can find on the Westtoer site a crowd barometer that lists all the beaches on the Belgian coast.
But here are some examples of calm beaches. We can thus set sail on the rooster (from Haan), a station with a beautiful era charm without high buildings, or on raversijde, between dunes and bunkers. Westende-Bad seduced by its wide and family beach, as is Saint-Idesbald, chic coxide district. Less known, the beaches of Groenendijk (next to Nieuwpoort) or those of the Westhoek reserve, at La Panne, are also worth the detour.
This is what the Belgian coast could look like in 2100, several Flemish cities could disappear from the map
On the French side, Bray-Dunes, Zuydcoote or Leffrinckoucke offer large wild expanses, ideal for walks.
In the Netherlands, Zealand, Cadzand-Bad, Nieuwvliet-Bad and Groede Bad combine nature, calm and charm. Last tip: to avoid the crowd, go early, and hit the road at the end of the day or at the very beginning of the afternoon.
