Sint-Truiden Truck Camera System Fails Before Rollout

Sint-Truiden planned to use a 120,000-euro network of ANPR cameras to keep heavy trucks out of its city center, but recent tests show the system cannot reliably identify vehicle types, forcing the city to fall back on manual police enforcement when the new rules take effect on October 1.

According to VRT NWS, the seven automatic number-plate recognition cameras and their control system were purchased in 2022 by the previous city government for nearly 120,000 euros. They distinguish poorly between cars, delivery vans, and trucks. A vehicle can be recognized as a truck when entering the restricted zone but be logged in a different category on exit, and plate recognition itself is not always accurate.

The Measure

From October, trucks heavier than 3.5 tonnes will be allowed to enter the city-center shopping area only between 6:00 and 10:30 AM. Smaller trucks and delivery vans are exempt and may deliver throughout the day. The city says the time window is meant to reduce nuisance and improve safety in the narrow historic core. As VRT NWS reported when the plan was announced in August, Sint-Truiden is following most Belgian cities in barring heavy trucks from shopping streets.

“Deliveries can take place before 10:30 AM, the hour before the shopping streets are fully used for shopping. This way traders still have enough time to receive goods,” alderman for Economy Marijn Gys (WOW) said at the time, adding that the rule would also keep heavy trucks from parking in front of shop windows during the day.

A System That Cannot Deliver

Mayor Ludwig Vandenhove (Vooruit) acknowledged the problem and said technical fixes are under review. “We are investigating which technical adjustments are needed and how much that will cost. It is not excluded that ultimately a completely new camera system will be needed,” he told VRT NWS. He conceded the city will probably miss its October 1 deadline for a camera-based solution, leaving the police zone Sint-Truiden-Gingelom-Nieuwerkerken to check compliance manually, which he said likely means “extra work for the police.”

The failure is the second camera setback for the city this year. In July, VRT NWS reported that only about half of Sint-Truiden’s roughly 100 security cameras had been working for a long period, with fiber-connection issues blamed. Vandenhove promised at the time that around 90 cameras would be operational by the end of October.

Why It Matters

Truck traffic in Sint-Truiden’s cramped center is a long-running grievance. The immediate trigger for the new measure was a recent incident in the Luikerstraat, where a truck hit a facade and a car after the driver failed to complete a turn. The problem is not new: in March 2025, Truiensnieuws.be reported that a Bpost delivery truck had struck a resident’s balcony in the Cicindriastraat for the sixth time, prompting the neighborhood to demand action.

The city-center delivery window is separate from a broader tonnage restriction that Sint-Truiden coordinated with the neighboring municipalities of Heers and Tongeren-Borgloon. Effective August 2026, that measure keeps vehicles above 3.5 tonnes off smaller roads in village centers across the three municipalities. “A tonnage restriction does not stop or start at a municipal border,” Heers mayor Kristof Pirard (VLDumont) said when the coordinated approach was announced.

The political dimension is delicate. The faulty equipment was bought under a previous administration, while the current four-party coalition (Vooruit, WOW, N-VA, Open Vld) must now make the policy work. The fallback to manual checks also raises questions about police capacity, and local traders have reacted with a mix of concern and skepticism. The city plans to consult them in the coming weeks before the rules take effect.

What’s Next

Sint-Truiden has said it will evaluate the time-window restriction after six months. In the meantime, two questions remain open: whether technical adjustments can salvage the existing cameras or whether the 2022 purchase will have to be written off, and how the police zone will absorb the added enforcement burden. For now, the 120,000-euro system that was supposed to automate the truck ban sits sidelined, and the rules will rest on the same officers the city hoped the cameras would replace.