Bus parking for Woluwe's European School

Dear Sir,

We as parents, students, teachers and staff of the European School in Woluwe appeal to you to find a solution for the school bus parking area.
As you know our school is, as all the other European schools in Brussels, overcrowded. The 2900 students who attend our school benefit from an efficient system of bus transportation (more than 70\% of them use the buses to reach and leave the school).

This service requires some 50 buses. Currently, there is no other place for students to board the buses than in the courtyard of our school. When all buses are there, the space between them is barely sufficient to allow children (some as young as four years) through. Not only do they have to resort to a sort of slalom to reach their bus, but the situation also makes supervision more difficult and poses a risk to their physical safety (for example in case of the accidental early start of a bus or during an evacuation).

Our children should have no preferential treatment as compared to any other school, but they should deserve at least the minimum safety conditions that could reasonably ensure us that an accident due to a false manoeuvre of a bus or a moment of distraction of a teacher or parent would not occur.

THIS IS NOT THE CASE TODAY AND THE SITUATION HAS BEEN LIKE THAT FOR SEVERAL YEARS!

The "Regie des Batiments" of the Belgian Federal Government understood the problem and, several years ago, took the necessary measures to build a parking lot just outside our school. This plan was unfortunately blocked by the Municipality of Woluwй. The Regie prepared a new plan that was discussed with the Municipality and on which they received an agreement in principle. Everything seemed to go the right way and the Brussels' Region delivered the urban permit, but then the Municipality blocked it once more.

In the meantime, the Fire Brigade has checked the situation and clearly reported that the presence of all these buses in the courtyard would be a serious obstacle in case of fire and that this should be removed.
We have been living in this situation for years, always hoping that eventually a solution would be found and that the Municipality, where hundreds of us live and where the school resides, would finally support this plan.

This seems not to be the case and we frankly fail to understand why! In the meantime all our children continue to be exposed to a very high level of risk. Should a serious accident occur we believe this would have consequences well beyond the material damages it would cause.

We believe that you, as mayor of Woluwй, do not wish this to happen.
We believe we are citizens just like any other with the same duties and rights and that you, Sir, as our mayor, are the person we can turn to for a rapid and fair solution to this problem.

WE ASK YOU THEREFORE TO TAKE IMMEDIATE STEPS TO UNBLOCK THE SITUATION AND TO ENSURE THAT THE WORKS WILL START AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

We offer you our availability to discuss and implement any possible action to ensure that the European school in Woluwй is integrated in the best way possible in the urban and social environment of this municipality.