Brugge is transforming almost its entire city centre, within the R30 ring road, into a cycle zone from 1 October, the city announced on Tuesday.
The expansion means about 300 designated cycle streets will be added to the existing ones, bringing the total length of the cycle zone to 87 kilometres — the highest in Belgium.
When the initiative was first introduced in October 2022, approximately 90 streets in the inner city were part of the cycle zone.
In cycle zones, all road users are restricted to a maximum speed of 30 km/hr and must stay behind cyclists. “This will make Bruges an even bigger cycling city,” said Mayor Dirk De fauw (CD&V).
“It’s not just the centre; many neighbourhoods and surrounding areas already have cycle streets," De Fauw said. "The safety of our cyclists is critical, and measures like these are essential.”
Certain streets, such as gateway roads and routes used by public transport operator De Lijn, are exempt from the new cycle zone to ensure that the city centre remains accessible. “We aim to make the city centre more appealing for cyclists without compromising accessibility for other road users,” De fauw added.
