Parking meters disappear: no more paying parking in Torhout

Torhout is therefore one of the first smaller cities to abolish paid parking after almost 30 years. The urban renewal with free parking should revive trade.

The parking meter on the Burg in Torhout may officially retire tomorrow, although it is already refusing service today. Torhout abolishes paid parking after more than 30 years. With the urban renewal, all vending machines will disappear from the street scene.

“Unnecessary Frustrations”

“People never had to pay a lot,” says mayor Kristof Audenaert. “But the fact that they had to get out of their car, put the coin in, then put the ticket back in the car. Those are things that are unnecessary, cause frustration. We want to get rid of that resentment. Torhout doesn’t have an easy time with the middle class “It’s all those little bits that help. And I also know that parking is very important to people.”

From now on, the center of Torhout will be one large blue zone, where everyone with the disc can park for free for 2 hours. In addition to six free peripheral car parks, there are also 54 shop-and-go parking spaces, where you can park for half an hour without paying.

Alderman of Mobility Elsie Desmet: “We really want to profile ourselves as a small provincial town here that everyone is welcome here. You can park very close by, you can park for free. And there is always room. For that I refer to our digital parking reference signs and to parking the app in Torhout.”

Merchants happy

Traders have been skeptical about paid parking for years. Many shops are empty, will the large blue zone cause the change?

“That’s a very good thing for the store,” says Riet Boens of shoe store Shoe Kids.

“We have been here on the Burg for 30 years and we have already experienced all kinds of parking options: without a parking meter, with free parking. Everything mixed together. People will find their way better again.”

In 2021, paid parking brought another 130,000 euros into the city coffers. Now Torhout still counts on about two-thirds of that amount, coming from offenders. It remains to be seen whether other cities will follow Torhout’s example.