Feu Routier -- Autour du monde : Belgique

Bruxelles, années 1970

H.MAILLET

P.TROCCO

Charleroi - 1999

Bastogne - 1984

OLD PHOTOS

• Regulations

The operation of the Belgian traffic light is almost identical to that of the French traffic lights. The main difference concerns the anticipation arrow which authorizes the crossing of the red light in the direction it indicates. The latter is flashing orange in France, while in Belgium it is green and non-flashing.

• Level crossing traffic lights

Belgian level crossing signals have three lights : the first is white and flashes when the crossing is open to indicate that the level crossing is in operation, the other two are red and flash alternately (wig-wag operation) when the passage is closed. These lights belong to the national Belgian railway company (SNCB), of which 800 examples dating from the 1960s and 1970s were replaced in 2014.

• Sagem Atlas 3G

Brussels

Streetview

• mâts jaunes et bleus

Brussels

Streetview - Charleroi

Streetview - Namur

P.TROCCO

• In Flanders

To distinguish itself from its Walloon neighbour, the Dutch-speaking region (Flanders) has installed its traffic lights on poles with yellow and black stripes. The implanted models are however the same, also equipped with contrast frame.

• Brussels

In the capital Brussels, from the 2010s, the renovation of traffic light intersections saw the appearance of Swarco Alustar traffic lights on gray poles, more sober and more elegant than their ancestors with a contrast frame on a red and white pole. However in 2013, a minister wanted to repaint these poles in yellow and blue (the colors of the Belgian capital), in order to make them more visible. A communication operation which was limited to a single crossroads, the other 4500 traffic lights finally retained their original color (1600 red and white, 2900 grey).

Since 2013, pedestrian coundown signals have also been installed at some intersections.

• In Wallonia

Since the 1950s, in the French-speaking region (Wallonia), traffic lights have been installed on poles with red and white stripes. They are equipped with a contrast frame rounded at their extremity.

The oldest signals are made of metal (made by GTE Atea or Westinghouse), the most recent are made of plastic (Swarco or Sagem). Although red and white poles are still widely used in Wallonia, more sober gray poles and more aesthetic traffic lights without a contrast frame appeared in city centers from the 2010s.

The French manufacturer Silec (Sagem) has been present in Wallonia since the 1980s/1990s, particularly in the city of Charleroi where there are crossroads equipped with Astron and Atlas signals.

Repeater signals are starting to appear in Belgium where they were completely absent from the 2010s.

The last tramway line in Charleroi (line 3 of the light metro) was inaugurated in 2012.

From 2011, these new Swarco Alustar signals appeared on the route of this tram, gray in color, without a contrast frame and on masts also gray in color. This is a first in this region of Wallonia where the lights were usually installed on red and white striped masts, characteristic of the Walloon region.

• signaux Swarco

Eeklo