Joelle, a resident of Jumet, experienced a significant change in her daily life four years ago when her street was renamed. The change resulted in several consequences, including loss of parcels, address not found on GPS, and administrative problems. Joelle shared her story through the orange Alert us button. She and her husband had been living on Rue Jules Destrée in Jumet for almost 30 years. The street was renamed overnight to Rue du Chaumonceau. Initially, Joelle found the new name annoying, but later, it became an administrative nightmare. The new street name was not listed anywhere, and on some GPS systems, the street simply did not exist. Despite changing the street sign a few months later, the problem persisted, and the street name was not updated. Several streets with the name Jules Destrée in various regions caused confusion. The street name change was part of an operation carried out by the City of Charleroi for several years to remove all duplicate street names. More than 200 streets have changed names over the past two years in Charleroi.
Become invisible on a map overnight. This is what happened to Joelle, a resident of Jumet. His street was renamed four years ago. A change, with many consequences. Loss of parcels, address not found on GPS, administrative problems… Joelle’s daily life has become a real ordeal. It was via the orange Alert us button that she decided to share her story with us.
Joelle, 63, and her husband Claude have been living on Rue Jules Destrée in Jumet for almost 30 years: “ We decided to come to this pretty area in 1990, after years spent in Brussels. A street full of memories for this retired couple. Together, Joelle and her husband have created a real cocoon of serenity in which to spend their retirement years. However, their daily life took a completely different turn four years ago: “ We received a letter telling us that our street was going to change its name. At the beginning, we did not really see any particular concern in this change. Except that the name was not terrible! »
Overnight, Rue Jules Destrée then becomes Rue du Chaumonceau. A change that Joelle takes at first with humor: “ At first, I found it annoying as a street name because people thought we lived on rue du Saumon Chaud. It became so repetitive that we laughed about it with my husband! “. Only, a few weeks later, the situation is no longer so funny. And for good reason, the street sign still remains unchanged: “ We began to notice hiccups in our daily lives. It has become an administrative hell. The slightest home delivery blocks. Everything was turned upside down… »
Confused GPS systems
A few months later, the street sign is finally changed. But the problems persist: The new street name is not listed anywhere. On some GPS, the street simply does not exist. Sometimes the old address has also been deleted. If we want to receive friends at our place, it’s quite a device to try to show them the right way! “An unlikely situation that has often played tricks on them:” We end up with delivery people on the phone who fall back on the old address because they believe there is an error. Not finding rue Jules Destrée in Jumet, they are often redirected to other rue Jules Destrée. They then find themselves miles away from us. When we explain the situation to them, they have the impression that we are having fun! »
And for good reason, there are several streets with the name Jules Destrée: ” It’s everywhere ! In Marcinelle, in Brussels, in Anderlues! That’s exactly why they changed our street, but if the organization doesn’t follow behind, we have a whole lot of repercussions. It’s as if we lived in a street that didn’t exist. We have the impression of being in a parallel dimension! Joelle’s case is not isolated. Indeed, a whole street is disrupted: ” When we talk about it among neighbors, we realize how absurd this situation is. Sometimes, we laugh about it, even if it remains quite disabling on a daily basis. Our parcels get lost, our letters too… »
The slightest outing is then a whole organization for Joelle. Be careful not to go too far, at the risk of not finding your way back: “ The new GPS are gradually beginning to find our address. But all it takes is an old version to disappear from the map! For example, the GPS in our car, which is only four years old, does not recognize the new address. We can’t even put our address on our GPS, it’s still quite annoying! »
Although this type of configuration remains rare, Joelle sees, against all expectations, the same situation repeating itself: “ My son, who lives in Lodelinsart, also had the same joke. His street changed its name, and he also found himself with a letter two months later, without any consultation. Joelle then shared her concerns with the municipality, without success: I’m told they can’t do anything about it. I have the impression that they don’t really take the problem seriously. For the moment it is mainly problems of parcels, and GPS. But the day there will be a medical emergency and our address will not be found, there, it will be dramatic. »
What justifies a street name change?
In this case, the street name change is part of an operation carried out by the City of Charleroi for several years now. The goal: to remove all duplicate street names throughout its territory to avoid confusion. The decision was taken following numerous mergers of municipalities. In 2021, the municipal council of Charleroi validated the continuation of the work to remove duplicates. According to the latest figures, more than 200 streets have changed names over the past two years in the city of Charleroi.
The latest street updates can be found on the City of Charleroi website at the following address:
In conclusion, the street name change in Jumet has become a nightmare for Joelle and her neighbors. What started as a small inconvenience turned into administrative chaos and daily struggles. The lack of communication and coordination between the municipality and residents only added to the frustration. While the intention behind the street name change was understandable, the execution left a lot to be desired. Hopefully, this story will serve as a cautionary tale for other municipalities planning similar operations. And for those residents who find themselves in a similar situation, remember that sharing your story can be the first step towards finding a solution.