Flanders wants to create 500 to 800 additional truck parking spaces along its motorways over the next ten years. But that ambition falls well short of what its own research says is needed: at least 1,800 extra spaces within five to ten years.

The expansion is part of the new Strategic Network Plan for Service Areas, presented on Tuesday. Together with upgrades to the region’s 72 motorway rest areas, it represents more than €100 million in public and private investment, according to Flemish Mobility Minister Annick De Ridder.

The plan should make service areas safer and more comfortable by adding charging infrastructure, sanitary facilities, and recreational amenities.

But the central question remains whether adding up to 800 spaces can keep pace with a truck parking shortage that the Flemish Mobility Council MORA already describes as “acute and growing.”

Every 30 kilometers

There are currently 2,886 spaces available. That is already 266 more than five years ago, but Minister of Mobility Annick De Ridder wants to add another 500 to 800 over the next ten years.

The aim is to have a rest area every 30 kilometers. Three highway rest areas will also be added in the coming years, including in Stekene (E34) and Affligem (E40).

There are also three active search zones for additional parking areas. These search zones are located in Maldegem (E34), Lichtervelde/Ruddervoorde (E403), and Herentals (E313).

Attention is also being given to differentiating services and to the smart distribution of charging and refueling infrastructure. The renovated parking areas will also include space for recreation and play and feature nature-rich bioswales.

Shortage

The shortage of parking spaces for trucks is urgent because truck drivers report discomfort, and, according to the Flemish Mobility Council MORA, the problem is “acute and growing.” So, will these 500 to 800 additional places be enough?

The 2022 Flemish study ‘Visie vrachtwagenparkeren’ (Vision on Truck Parking) estimated that, relative to 2022, Vlaanderen would need at least 1,800 additional spaces within five to ten years, about 3,600 within 10 to 15 years, and approximately 5,600 over 25 to 30 years.

The 500-800 additional motorway spaces represent a 17-28% increase over today’s 2,886 motorway spaces, but, measured against Vlaanderen’s own minimum requirement of 1,800 extra spaces in the first 5 to 10 years, the motorway program provides only about 28-44% of the additional capacity required.

Demand is rising

In other words, even if all 800 materialize, roughly another 1,000 spaces would still have to come from ports, industrial estates, private truck parks, transport companies, or other public locations to satisfy the study’s minimum short-term scenario.

And demand is still rising. On top of that, electrification creates a new parking requirement because electric trucks need places to remain while charging.

The shortage of parking spaces is also an acute safety problem. In January 2026, a car crashed into a truck parked illegally along the E19 in Sint-Job-in-‘t-Goor; a report explicitly stated that the truck was there because the nearby parking area was full.

Flanders

Flanders’ ambition for a truck driver to find a rest stop every 30 km sounds impressive. But the distance between parking areas and available capacity is a completely different metric. Having a parking space every 30 km is of little help if the next three are already full at 21:00.

So, Flanders promises 800 extra truck spaces, but its own study says at least 1,800 are needed. This means that 800 is a useful first tranche, but not a solution.

The decisive question is whether the rest of the promised capacity will appear outside the motorway service areas – or whether Vlaanderen will still be discussing the same 7,000-place structural gap ten years from now.

European problem

The problem is European as well. A recent Commission study estimates an EU shortage of around 390,000 truck spaces today, potentially rising to 483,000 by 2040. Belgium, France, Germany, and the Netherlands are specifically among the countries drivers consider least well served. 

In the Netherlands, motorway stopping areas are normally spaced around every 20 km, but they become overcrowded when trucks use them for overnight or weekend rest.

French concession motorways already provide about 33,000 truck spaces, yet France remains one of the countries drivers identify as badly undersupplied.