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More Brussels residents are ditching their cars
The number of Brussels residents who use only a car to get around has decreased from 53.1% to 32.8% between 1999 and 2010. However, the total distance travelled by car has gone up, as has the length of traffic jams in the city, according to figures from a study on the mobility of Brussels residents over the past ten years. The results of the study were presented to the press on Wednesday by Mobility Minister Pascal Smet (SP.A).
The number of Brussels residents who regularly use a car has dropped by about 20% in the past 10 years, while the number of people who use a combination of different transport modes has risen steadily, according to the study.
This trend does not extend to the Flemish communes of the Brussels periphery, where about half of the people are still exclusive car users.
“We will invest in public transport,” said Smet. “We also need to invest in separate bicycle paths, which are absolutely necessary in order to move around within the city. We need to redistribute the public space,” he concluded. “I'm not against the car, but right now it takes up too much space in the city.”
Comments
Yes, public space does need to be redistributed in the city to make it safer for cyclists. However, the car is going to be with us for many more decades, and something needs to be done to address the interminable delays associated with the the outer ring, especially at the junctions with E411and E40. The outer ring is a fatally flawed design with too many intersections too close together and with inadequate entrance and exit ramps. When with the Belgian Government finally bite the bullet and address this issue?
Far too much public space in Brussels is taken up by cars (whether moving or parked). Let's hope Pascal Smet can get Brussels moving again by reallocating space to pedestrians, cyclists and public transport. This requires determination from the Region to apply its existing policy, and full cooperation from the 19 communes/gemeenten. As for the motorway ring, the Belgian Government can't do a thing, as road transport is a matter for the regional authorities. The long-awaited and much-delayed RER rapid transit network will do more to solve road congestion than adding yet more lanes to the Ring!