Brussels activist turns potholes into flower pots to protest damaged roads

Brussels resident brightens up damaged roads with his planting protest.

April 6, 2018, 2:12 PM

Residents in Brussels are so fed up with potholes, an activist is taking it upon himself to make the streets a little more colorful.

PHOTO: Brussels resident Anton Schuurmans looks for unrepaired potholes to plant flowers in as he walks around Brussels, Belgium, April 5, 2018.
Brussels resident Anton Schuurmans looks for unrepaired potholes to plant flowers in as he walks around Brussels, Belgium, April 5, 2018.

Anton Schuurmans, 29, is going around the Belgian capital city filling potholes with flowers to highlight what he said is the poor condition of the city’s roads, according to Reuters.

PHOTO: Brussels resident Anton Schuurmans plants flowers in an unrepaired pothole in Brussels, Belgium, April 5, 2018.
Brussels resident Anton Schuurmans plants flowers in an unrepaired pothole in Brussels, Belgium, April 5, 2018.

Schuurmans, who moved to Belgium from the Netherlands, said pedestrians, cyclists and motorists alike are irked by the sorry state of some of Brussels' roads.

Many people in Brussels are saluting Schuurmans' efforts, echoing his concerns for road repairs.

“There are many potholes in the street in front of my house, so we hear a lot of noise every evening as people drive over them quickly,” >one resident told Reuters.

PHOTO: Brussels resident Anton Schuurmans waters flowers after planting them in an unrepaired pothole in Brussels, Belgium, April 5, 2018.
Brussels resident Anton Schuurmans waters flowers after planting them in an unrepaired pothole in Brussels, Belgium, April 5, 2018.

The activist said his floral protest is already having some success in making critical repairs to the city's potholes.

PHOTO: Flowers planted in a pothole by Brussels resident Anton Schuurmans to draw attention to the state of public roads in Brussels, Belgium, April 5, 2018.
Flowers planted in a pothole by Brussels resident Anton Schuurmans to draw attention to the state of public roads in Brussels, Belgium, April 5, 2018.

“At least one pothole has been repaired two days after I planted the flower in it,” he said. “I was quite happy to see that.”