Ghent to get biggest pedestrian zone in Belgium

The city council of Ghent has approved a long-awaited circulation plan for the city, wherein pedestrians and cyclists will have more freedom, while motorists will be diverted around the city centre.

The new plan, scheduled to go into effect on 3 April, 2017, divides the city of Ghent into seven zones: six zones for cars and one pedestrian zone bigger than Brussels. Traffic is banned completely from the pedestrian zone, requiring all through traffic to take the ring road around Ghent.

Ghent residents have been eagerly awaiting a decision around the new circulation plan for two years, as it involves a number of drastic measures. Motorists will be most affected by the changes, because many central streets will be blocked off to car traffic with steel posts. Just outside of the city centre, there will be more one-way streets and a 30km per hour speed limit.