Travel: Together looks at the ongoing transformation of chic Belgian coastal town Knokke-Heist.
Knokke-Heist is creating a greener and more comfortable street scene with a more individualized experience. The aim is to make the main shopping streets and associated squares more attractive. In a short time, the view of the street will be much greener, more comfortable and more attractive, thanks to a few temporary interventions. For
this, an appeal will be launched with street-art artists and a renowned international florist. In addition, the municipality is strongly committed to unique and individual experiences.
Whoever comes to enjoy summer in Knokke-Heist can expect absolute quality, thanks to a great deal of extra effort. The marketing plan obviously aims to revive the local economy in the short term, and the town hall has already allocated €1.5 million to this and stresses that this marketing is the first part of a wider recovery plan for which around €20 million will be released in the longer term.
Lippenslaan transformed into boulevard: In order to make shopping in the triangle of gold trade in the district of Knokke-Heist even more pleasant, one-way traffic will be set up this summer in Lippenslaan, between the Dumortierlaan and the Van Bunnenplein, in the Kongostraat and in the section of Kustlaan between the Lippenslaan and the Van Bunnenlaan.
On the traffic-free west side of the Lippenslaan, wooden terraces will be laid on the parking strips, which will considerably improve the walking comfort on the widened sidewalk. In addition, it is easier to take social distancing into account. The west route of the Lippenslaan is reserved for cyclists and emergency services.
In the central reserve, there will be a carpet of colourful flowers. A range of eye-catching flags will also be on display, and the vegetable borders will be alternated with benches, stylized vases and colourful flowers with comfortable uniform terraces.
At Alfred Verweeplein, the entrance building to the underground car park will be filled with a futuristic complex by a collective of local artists, and the same artists will also be creating on the Burgemeester Frans Desmidtplein, with a remarkable pool of koi carp – anyone who sees it will realize that this is a fine example of an optical illusion.
A Green City Spot will be built at the corner of Dumortierlaan and Lippenslaan, an elegant triangle of wooden seats with plantations. These elegant, cornet-style flower boxes provide wildlife with their own water supply regulation system. This meeting place with a popular glacier will soon offer a view of a gigantic vertical flower wall on the facade of a commercial building.
In early June, the street-art collective DisorderLine on Burgemeester Frans Desmidtplein will start painting a three-dimensional carp pond on the road. This street graffiti trio is composed of Ken De Prince (Prince) of Heist, Sander Anseeuw (Stein) of Ruddervoorde Koen Van Cauwenberghe (Mataone) of Ronse. At the same time, DisorderLine will be taking over the entrance building to Alfred Verweeplein’s underground car park, with the building thus transformed into a futuristic cubist complex. In the field, the artists will also be painting 3D drawings with play elements for children.
In the Dumortierlaan, four benches of artistic mosaics have been placed near the Church of the Sacred Heart. The area is an important stop this summer for the electric shuttle that will carry visitors from Duinenwater to the Zoute for free. In 2010, 15 pieces of these works of art were placed on the Zeedijk following the 16th sculpture link in Knokke-Heist. After many positive reactions, the town hall bought the collection for €100,000 and distributed it across the country.
