The regional authorities have decided to close the parking lot at route E42. There had been problems with refugees.
On 12 December, the governor of Hainaut introduced a ban on stopping at the Amoudries parking lot on route E42 (A15 motorway) towards Mons, according to the Belgian association of carriers Febetra. The reason is problems with refugees who have not previously been in this region. Unlike other regions, Hainaut authorities did not limit themselves to a night parking ban but wholly banned stopping at Amoudries. The ban is valid until 13 January 2020.
Belgique : Fermeture parking Amoudries (E42/A15) – Febetra https://t.co/Jq5IHaQqqW
— FEBETRA (@FEBETRA) December 12, 2019
Prohibitions in Belgian parking lots
The authorities of other regions also used similar measures. Night bans were introduced, among others, in the car park at E40 in Drongen (in October 2016), and in the popular car park in Jabbeke after a shooting between refugees in August last year. In May 2018, the night parking ban also came into force at the Waremme car park at E40. It applied to vehicles with DMC over 3.5 t.
The Belgian transport organization Febetra criticized the bans, arguing that closing parking lots would only increase the problem of the lack of parking spaces for trucks. According to the association, instead of closing parking lots, the Belgian government should allocate more funds to securing parking spaces for trucks on the highways.