Belgium in Brief: Giving space back to pedestrians

Belgium in Brief: Giving space back to pedestrians
Credit: Pascal Smet's office

Another part of Brussels is being turned into a pedestrian zone, as two important streets in the Porte de Namur area will be transformed to put the focus on walking and cycling.

The aim is to make the area, which attracts a lot of international tourists and travellers with its many luxury shops and hotels, even more attractive – making it "a huge change-maker" for the entire district, according to Brussels State Secretary for Urbanism Pascal Smet.

"We are once again converting a section of the inner ring road from an urban motorway to an urban boulevard," he said.

While the area will extend the sidewalks and cycling paths on one of the busiest parts of the Brussels inner ring road, Smet stressed that through traffic will not be hindered by the changes.

The existing motorways will run through the avenue centrally, meaning that car traffic should be able to pass through without any issues, and with less conflict with local city life on the pavements.

For Smet, the redesign is part of shaping "the city of tomorrow." What do you think? Let @Maajtee know.

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