Plan for Reyers viaduct not logical, says action group

A planned tunnel under Place Général Meiser in the Brussels commune of Schaerbeek is not the answer to the traffic problems in the area, according to the urban action group Arau. “It makes no sense to break down the Reyers viaduct, only to build it up again as a tunnel a little further on,” the group said in a report.

The region’s mobility ministry plans to demolish the viaduct, which is too badly damaged to repair. The works would begin next summer and take until 2018, when the region would begin constructing a new tunnel for trams and car traffic.

Last week, Brussels’ mobility minister, Pascal Smet, told the Brussels Parliament that the cost of demolishing the viaduct and creating a broad avenue would be €27.2 million, more than the €21 million initially estimated.

But Arau estimated the price of the tunnel at €250 million. “How many kilometres of pavement, of cycle paths, or of tramlines set apart from the roadway could be created for that same €250 million?” the group asked. It asked instead for Place Général Meiser (pictured) to be handled within a framework of “urban boulevards giving priority to pedestrians, cyclists and public transport”.

Smet is thus far sticking to his original plan. “The tunnels will allow us to design a whole new Place Général Meiser,” he told parliament. “Meiser must become a square where people gather to meet each other, which after all is the whole point of a square.”

Photo courtesy Varech/Wikimedia