Brussels mayor leads call to ban cars in city centre

The new mayor of Brussels, Yvan Mayeur, is wasting no time getting to his list of New Year’s resolutions, and he’s determined to not let anything stand in his way. First up for 2014 is banning cars from the Brussels city centre.

Mayeur wants to see the area surrounding the De Brouckère/ De Brouckèreplein and the Beurs/ Beursplein turned into a pedestrian zone, ridding the area of automobiles. If implemented, it will also mean closing part of Rue Anspach/ Anspachlaan to traffic to create the car-free zone modeled after New York's Times Square.

He is determined not to let potential protests or legal action get in the way of the project, and plans to move quickly to make pedestrian zone a reality. He wants the focus shifted to bikes and walkers, which he believes will not only make the area more attractive, but also better for businesses. The mayor says a decision should be made by the end of January.