Brussels scores poorly as a cycling city

Out of 90 cities across the world, the bicycle insurance Coya's new index ranked Brussels in 55th place for bicycle-friendly cities. The international bicycle insurance Coya lists the most bicycle-friendly cities worldwide, based on sixteen criteria, including the percentage of cyclists in a city, bicycle infrastructure, number of accidents and proportion of bicycle stores and bicycle sharing systems.

The top three most bicycle-friendly cities in the world are Utrecht in the Netherlands in the first place, Munster in Germany second, and Antwerp third. Only 3% of the inhabitants in Brussels use the bike, in Utrecht it is 51%, and in Antwerp 29%.

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"There is still a great lack of cycle lanes in Brussels," said Wies Callens of the cyclists union in La Dernière Heure. "Moreover, there is a feeling of insecurity, which means that some people don't dare to cycle. In Antwerp, on the other hand, the bicycle is promoted and everything is provided for cyclists," he added.

Brussels Minister for Mobility Pascal Smet (SP.A), leader of One.Brussels, has announced in La Dernière Heure that there should be an additional 80 km of cycle lanes in Brussels in a year. "The more space you give cyclists, the more people will actually start using the bicycle," he added.

Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times