Flowers being used by Anton Schuurmans to fill Brussels potholes. Photo credit: Reuters
Potholes. They are a plague in almost any road we ride our motorcycle causing damages and sometimes causing crashes, and in many countries this plague is such a big problem that people start to fight it with some pretty innovative ideas!
That’s the case of Anton Schuurmans, a Brussels resident, who isn’t going to stand quiet while he watches the roads of the Belgium capital become filled with more and more potholes.
Anton decided to fight this problem by using potholes as flower pots.
This way he intends to highlight the problem, and armed with a bag full of flowers, a bag of soil and a plastic watering can, Anton has been busy filling Brussels potholes with colorful flowers. Bringing color to the city and highlighting the problem isn’t without its risks, and Anton Schuurmans sometimes has to face heavy traffic just to reach a pothole in the middle of the road.
Talking to news agency Reuters, he said that “pedestrians, bicycles, people with their cars and motorcycles, everybody is being annoyed by these potholes,” said 29-year-old Schuurmans, standing outside Brussels’ gothic cathedral, where he had just planted several flowers.
Anton Schuurmans pacific and colorful protest is already getting some results, with the city Council fixing some potholes he highlighted with flowers.
This isn’t the protest we’re used to see, but it definitely seems to bring the results we need to have better road safety while we ride our bikes.
Do you think this kind of protest could be useful in Southeast Asia?