Due to the hot summer weather, Westtoer expects it to be quite busy on the coast this weekend. On the busy barometer, De Haan is the first coastal municipality to turn “orange” on Saturday afternoon, which means that it is “very busy”. It is also traffic jams on the E40 and you have to take up to an hour extra driving time into account.
–
VIEW THE ONLINE BAROMETER HERE. How busy is it currently on the coast?
According to Westtoer, the announced summer weather resulted in many last-minute bookings at the hotels. Many second-time residents and day-trippers will also cool off by the sea during the heat wave. Everyone is advised to avoid the most popular beaches of the resorts, especially in the afternoon. It is recommended to seek out the less crowded beaches outside the center.
For the three busiest beaches in Ostend, a registration system applies at least until Wednesday. The City of Ostend announced on Thursday that all capacity in the guarded swimming areas in the center had already been taken up by Saturday. Visitors in Ostend are therefore also advised to go to the less crowded beaches, for example on the Oosteroever or in Mariakerke. Raversijde is also an option, but only for sunbathing.
On Saturday afternoon, the online busy barometer will still turn dark or light green in several places, the codes for ‘quiet’ and ‘cozy’. As is often the case, Zeebrugge, for example, is still completely dark green. In several seaside resorts, the busiest zone is now yellow, which stands for ‘busy’. Around 11 o’clock it came to the centers of De Panne, Middelkerke, Blankenberge in Knokke. There are now also Nieuwpoort-Bad in Wenduine added. Rooster then turns orange again first, which means “very busy”. The system was developed in collaboration with Proximus and uses mobile telephony data.
ALSO READ. It is already busy in Knokke-Heist, but no checks on day tourists
Traffic jam towards the coast
It has been quite busy towards the coast all day, says Peter Bruyninckx of the Flemish Traffic Center. Especially on the E40 then. “Those who drive from Brussels to Ostend have to (shortly after 12 noon, ed.) still add an hour to his travel time due to delays here and there. It is very busy in Merelbeke, Drongen and Aalter, but also in Groot-Bijgaarden and Ternat. Nothing dramatic, but all together you lose some time. We also notice that a lot of people are still leaving for the coast. ”
Traffic on the E34 is currently quite smooth. “There was some traffic jam on Saturday morning, but that seems to be going more smoothly now.”
–
