The presence of cars in Brussels is often remarked upon but still unresolved. For all but the most forward-thinking cities, this isn't uncommon and the Belgian capital has made some noteworthy transformations to the benefit of locals and tourists.
Car Free Sunday is now an annual fixture in numerous urban centres around the country and provides an occasion for people to revel in the unusual pleasure of roaming roads normally reserved for motorists. The day gives a glimpse of how things could be, with some canny planning and re-thinking of infrastructure.
And this is indeed what the city will now be putting into action, with plans announced to promote alternative modes of transport (not least your feet) within the inner ring road. It's not quite an outright ban on motorised vehicles that would turn the centre into an enclave of pedestrian purists, but it should direct all traffic to the surrounding péripherique, preventing cars from cutting through the bustling heart of Brussels.
All but the most die-hard boy racers (anyone passing by the Saint-Géry vicinity on a Friday or Saturday night couldn't miss the revving of souped-up hatchbacks asserting themselves amid throngs of bar-goers) the plans will be welcomed and are another step towards making the city calmer, cleaner, and more convenient.
Looking forward to carefree frolics in town? Let @Orlando_tbt know.
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1. Belgium lifts testing and quarantine rules for most travellers
From Friday, travellers with a valid vaccination, recovery or test certificate entering Belgium will no longer have to quarantine or get tested upon arrival, announced the Interministerial Conference (IMC) on Health. Read more.
2. Brussels inner city largely car-free from August
The City of Brussels located within the small ring road will become largely car-free from 16 August in favour of pedestrians, cyclists and public transport with the ambition of creating a more livable environment in the heart of the region. Read more.
3. Code orange issued for northern Belgium as country braces for storm Eunice
One day after the code yellow weather warning was issued across the whole of Belgium in anticipation of storm Dudley, a code orange warning has been put out for East and West Flanders and Antwerp as gusts of 150 km/h are expected. Read more.
4. ‘Revolting and deeply unfair’: Public transit staff face 13 cases of aggression per day
Public transit staff across Belgium are facing an average of 13 cases of aggression per day, with 4,787 attacks in 2021, according to a press release from Belgian railway company SNCB. Read more.
5. EU to throw away 55 million Covid vaccines by end of month
The European Union will reportedly throw away 55 million coronavirus vaccine doses by the end of February – 25 million more than the bloc has donated to Africa so far in 2022, the People’s Vaccine Alliance (PVA) claims. Read more.
6. Switzerland drops most Covid measures, returns to near-normalcy
Switzerland’s Federal Council decided on Wednesday to immediately lift almost all anti-coronavirus measures. Hospitality venues, movies and restaurants will all be open from Thursday 17 February without a Covid certificate or mask. Read more.
7. Hidden Belgium: A Belgian enclave inside Germany
A narrow strip of Belgian territory was created after the First World War along the route of the Vennbahn railway line. Read more.
