Opposition questions from the Ecolo/Groen party (the Green party), cdH (the Christian Democrats) and DeFI (Democratic Federalist Independent party) on progress to build four underground car parks - which were supposed to accompany the traffic plan linked to the pedestrianisation of the boulevards in the center of Brussels - have so far, on the majority of points, gone unanswered.
So it was revealed on Monday evening, during a councillors' meeting of Ville de Bruxelles (Brussels City Council).
At the beginning of this month, the daily newspaper L'Echo observed a decrease in the use of the current Brussels city centre car parks, throwing into doubt the existence of a genuine private sector interest to build four additional car parks desired by the Socialist-Liberal majority, upon the insistence of its MR-Open Vld (Liberal and Conservative-Liberal/Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats) wing.
At the beginning of last year, the council adopted four specifications with a view to issuing an invitation to tender for their construction.
On Monday, Bart Dhondt (the Green party), Fabian Maingain (Democratic Federalist Independent party), and Christian Ceux (the Christian Democrats) asked the elected representatives for a progress report upon the matter, in particular wishing to take the pulse of the majority upon the interest that it is arousing within the private sector.
"How many suggestions have you received?” “I cannot tell you,” responded the Deputy Burgomaster for Transport (Open VLD), indicating that she was intending to safeguard the council's interests in negotiations with potential candidates.
She did not indicate when she would be in a position to say any more.
For her part, the deputy burgomaster Marion Lemesre repeated, stating actual figures, that the shortage of parking spaces in the Marolles district in Brussels “lays down the absolute necessity to build car parks which are accessible to residents,” but without saying more about the construction project as a consequence of the Brigittine car park or even that of La Place Rouppe, which some say has reached a dead end.
