Saint-Josse mayor Emir Kir approved the Good Move mobility plan for the municipality on Friday but rejected several programme points, leading to objections from a civil platform.
Kir, mayor of Saint-Josse, does not see the need for a 30km/h zone in the whole municipality or for the reduction of parking spaces, leading to protest from civil platform 1210/0.
"According to the mayor, the current mobility plan would encourage gentrification. He only links the call for carfree neighbourhoods and pedestrian zones to richer residents," the platform said, reports La Capitale. "However, recent research from the Brussels-North police zone has shown that the main annoyances in the neighbourhood are traffic-related," it added.
"We ask for an exception to the 30km/h zone rule for the major roads, and want to do an effect study about the impact of a 30km/h zone on the local roads," said Kir to Bruzz.
"Residents of Saint-Josse are woken up at night because of street races, and 100km/h is not uncommon either. Some drivers see our streets as their personal Francorchamps," said 1210/0.
"Every parent has had to pull their children off a pedestrian crossing at least once before. In a municipality where inappropriate driving behaviour is so common, there must be clear and strict measures. A generalised 30 km/h zone would provide more clarity. Safe traffic and healthy air or no luxury products," 1210/0 added.
Additionally, the municipal administration does not want to remove parking spaces on public roads, as there is a big shortage of parking spaces in Saint-Josse, according to Kir.
"It is true that Saint-Josse has the least amount of public parking spaces in the Region, but it is also the municipality with the least number of cars per inhabitant: 185 cars per 1,000 people," 1210/0 said.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
