2023-05-24 11:31:00
We were telling you regarding it yesterday, a controversial road sign in Flanders: it had always said “Luik” but recently it has been changed to “Liège”. The idea was to simplify things, because in Belgium, road signs are sometimes very complicated to understand: for example, in Wallonia, you can read Tongres and Crisnée on a sign. Once arrived in Flanders, Crisnée does not change, but Tongres becomes Tongeren.
There are other examples, simpler than others: Namur becomes Namen, Courtrai which becomes Kortrijk. In some cases, it is less obvious, especially for foreign tourists: Bergen is Mons, Rijsel corresponds to Lille and Borgwirm is Waremme.
All these complications are provided for by law. “Any directional sign, which is a communication to the public, is subject to what is called the use of languages in administrative matters. Therefore, the names of towns, in general, on the signs must be indicated in the language of the region concerned exclusively”notes Héloïse Winandy, spokesperson for Sofico.
To this must be added the highway code which, in an inverse logic, imposes the language of the country concerned for cities abroad. We will therefore not see Aachen on the plates, but only Aachen.
In Flanders, following the rant of the Flemish Minister for Mobility, the Liège panel will therefore once once more be transformed into Luik. But you should know that a simple panel costs, installation included, around 300 euros, multiplied by the tens of thousands of panels in the country, it might have been very expensive…
1684934975
#Controversy #road #sign #Flanders #cost #change #signs
