Brussels residents in November launched a petition to change the name of metro station Pétillon, in the municipality of Etterbeek, which takes its name from Arthur Pétillon – an army major during King Leopold II's colonial rule in Congo.
The petition has so far received over 600 signatures. It calls to decolonise Brussels' public space and "to reassess some of the tributes that have been paid in the past." It proposes renaming the station Lucie Spède, after a relatively unknown Etterbeek poet who died in 2010.
Brussels Mobility Minister Elke Van den Brandt promised to look into the case in the Regional Mobility Committee earlier in December, after Brussels MP Ingrid Parmentier stressed that the petition's request is "part of a broader demand for decolonisation and feminisation" of the public space, Bruzz reports.
Petillon metro station. Credit: STIB
Van den Brandt has stated that her office "can certainly understand the citizens' request. It deserves to be taken seriously and studied, which we will."
During this legislature, 13 bus and tram stops have already been given a new (female) name in Brussels in an effort to "feminise" the public space in the capital. Three more new stops will follow next year.
But so far, only bus or tram stops have been renamed, as changing the name of a metro station is more complex, Van den Brandt said. "The metro is the backbone of our public transport and the structure connects to a lot of other stops. So changing the name of one station has an impact on the touch points of passengers."
Altering the surrounding area
A considerable amount of signage would need to be changed, at all touch points and on each individual metro station, as well as the network plan, information boards and the website. "That obviously has a cost," Van den Brandt stated.
For the sake of clarity, many metro stations are named after an adjacent street – this is also the case at Pétillon stop, on the corner of Rue Major Pétillon. "It makes little sense to change the name of a stop on a street or square without changing the name of that street or square with it."
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The Brussels plan to combat racism (launched earlier this year by State Secretary Nawal Ben Hamou) already envisaged that STIB stops with colonial references should be renamed. The same applies to the roads along those stops.
"A global approach for that has not yet been started," Van den Brandt said, which means that STIB is acting on its own initiative for now. "The tradition is that the new name is chosen by the Regional Government after STIB nominates it."
New names can be proposed to STIB by anyone, including citizens and associations. Whether Lucie Spède will make it is now under further review.
