Belga
No through-traffic in City of Brussels from 16 August
Starting 16
August the City of Brussels plans to ban all through-traffic from the downtown
pentagon inside the inner orbital ‘Kleine Ring’. This means it will be
impossible for drivers to cross the city centre and you will be looped back to
the inner orbital ring road.
The plan is
part of Good Move, a Brussels-wide programme designed to deter through-traffic
in residential areas across the region.
“The plan
will give residents more peace and quiet and improve air quality” says green
mobility alderman Dhondt. “At present
too many cars are turning round in circles in streets that are not meant for
this. They cause congestion and tailbacks
in residential areas and where children go to school”.
The
Brussels inner city is being divided up into 8 neighbourhoods that will be
delimited by a loop for through traffic.
“The loop will always take you back to the inner orbital. If you leave the route, you will get stuck”
explains Dhondt. “Filters are being
created at 27 locations in the neighbourhoods: fixed posts or posts that can
sink into the ground or streets where the direction of traffic changes midway
forcing you to turn back, pedestrian precincts and cameras with plate
recognition. Avoiding the new rules will
be difficult, nigh impossible”.
Space freed
up by the changes will in time be used to create bike, school and playstreets,
parks, avenues, play areas, terraces and new tramlines. The new arrangement is
being introduced on 16 August in high summer when Brussels is calm.
Alderman
Dhondt is confident all residents will be able to drive back home. “A pass will allow you to sink posts, cameras
will recognise our plate and you may have to take a different, less obvious
route through many one-way streets, but you will get there. Suppliers will also be able to pass through
the filters from 6AM to 11AM.
