More than 600 fines are still handed out every month on the Nieuwlandstraat in the center of Tilburg. This means that the camera still generates a small hundred thousand euros for the state treasury every month. The municipality now considers the situation so clear that motorists cannot miss the entry ban. However, not everyone agrees.
Anyone who has entered the Nieuwlandstraat at the Korte Tuinstraat in the center of Tilburg since 1 July can expect a fine of 159 euros. Only between six and eleven o’clock in the morning there is no ban. And anyone who has an exemption may always drive into the street.
Although the number of fines has decreased, the situation for many drivers is still unclear from the number of fines in recent months:
- Sep 1,343
- October: 956
- Nov: 676
- Dec: 647
The changed situation resulted in a total of 3,959 fines in July and August. Last year, more than 1.2 million euros went to the state treasury thanks to the camera in Nieuwlandstraat.
The rain of fines caused a lot of outrage. The legal aid shop received many dozens of complaints and more than three hundred objections were submitted. “We still regularly receive complaints about that situation,” says Jos van Roestel.
The flow of fines also caused some unrest at the municipality of Tilburg, according to the email exchanges between officials. These have been requested by the legal aid shop. “There is some political pressure on it and we want the signs back as soon as possible because the fines are not decreasing,” writes an official.
The signs announcing the closure of Nieuwlandstraat at Radiopleintje were replaced within two days. The requested documents also show that adapting the paving proves difficult, partly due to material shortages. It will take until the end of October for a speed bump to be installed. This should make it clearer that you should turn left into Korte Tuinstraat.
Van Roestel does not expect the judiciary to withdraw the many fines itself. Objectors will probably have to continue to litigate. “But those interim adjustments by the municipality are good arguments for the subdistrict court to get the fines off the table.”
The only question is which period the subdistrict court is looking at. “You can discuss when the closure was clear and whether it is now,” says van Roestel. There is no doubt about this for the municipality of Tilburg, says a spokesperson. “It is now very clear. Everyone should be able to read signs if you participate in traffic.”
He doesn’t think it’s very much that 650 people a month still drive a ticket. “People blindly rely on their navigation system and if it is outdated, you can go wrong. Only the traffic signs are leading, such a system is an aid.”
In any case, the municipality believes that car traffic has little business on the Nieuwlandstraat around the Radiopleintje. “We are making it traffic-calmed for a reason. That is why loading and unloading can take place in front of the shops in the morning. And local residents have an exemption.”