2023-12-04 14:18:00
“It had to be done. I went without a lawyer because I knew I was going to win,” confides the sixty-year-old, who denounces fines imposed “on the backs of cancer patients.” “It horrifies me.”
©Bernard Demoulin
“Totally faulty” signaling
Backtracking. In 2016, the sky fell on François’ head: he suffered from leukemia. Then began a long and courageous fight once morest cancer. First treated in the city center near the Porte de Hal, the Rhodian, now in remission, continued his treatment from 2022 in Anderlecht, in the new Jules Bordet institute in Erasme.
Verbalized by parking.brussels, a Schaerbeek resident contests, ends up in court… and wins his case for lack of registered mail: “A victory”
“With covid, I avoided indoor parking lots, and favored outdoor spaces.” And he is not the only one to have gotten into the habit of parking outside: the few spaces outside the hospital, rue Meylemeersch, are almost constantly occupied by vehicles…, despite the bans. .
“Here, the signage is completely faulty,” laments the pensioner. At the start of rue Meylemeersch, a sign indicates “blue zone”, where the disc is applicable. Then, a few meters further on, another sign indicates that parking is prohibited.
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François knows it: he is not the only one to have fallen into the trap. “I always park here,” Laura tells us when we visit. “Ha, we can’t? But I put my blue disc. Ha, it’s totally forbidden? I wasn’t aware of it. Anyway, paid parking is expensive when you come all day to visit to a sick person.”
Paid parking, however, is much cheaper than the hefty fine imposed on offenders. “The fine is €116. To give a point of comparison, a visit to my hematologist costs €12. I refused to pay because I find that the signage is completely faulty. Let us put, for example, small posts, or a yellow marking on the sidewalk, as is done in many places,” notes François. “Many people who come here don’t know the place well. They come from all over Belgium, are visiting…”
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Double or quits
But to contest a PV in Brussels, it’s the cross and the banner. First, the fine falls. The motorist then contacted the municipality of Anderlecht and its mayor Fabrice Cumps (PS)… without response. In the meantime, the letters are multiplying. A reminder, then a second, a letter from the bailiffs… Each time, the bill rises. From €116, the total increases to €354. Costs that would increase in the event of a possible loss of a future trial. But the Rhodian takes the risk of going to court in January 2023. Double or nothing.
The bet ultimately paid off. “I’m very happy with it.” François did not have to pay the fine and the municipality was ordered to pay €74. Contacted, the Anderlecht authorities did not comment.
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