The Brussels municipality of Saint-Gilles has stopped waiting for any regional decisions on the matter, with the mayor taking action at the local level to enforce a maximum speed limit for electric scooters of 8 km/h, both in its pedestrian and semi-pedestrian zones.
The measure applies in areas where pedestrians live closely with these vehicles, such as the Parvis de Saint-Gilles, Place Bethléem, Place Jacques Franck, Rue Jourdan, the area between Avenue Louise and Rue Dejoncker as well as Rue Dejoncker itself, Rue Jean Stas, Place Marie Janson, Rue de Moscou and between Rue de la Forge and Rue de Rome.
"We are aware of the different ways in which people move around today and therefore we are also aware of the road safety of all users. Starting with the drivers of electric scooters," said Saint-Gilles Mayor Jean Spinette in a press release.
In 2021, 410 e-scooter riders were injured – a 195% increase compared to 2019-2020. 3% of those involved in the 2019-2020 accidents were seriously injured or died, according to figures by Brussels Mobility.
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"Too often, the high speed of electric scooters in high-risk areas creates extremely dangerous situations for pedestrians. Often these are children and the elderly," Spinette said. "I want to appeal to the sense of responsibility of scooter users, so that we will not have to question the use of these vehicles in Saint-Gilles."
In line with upcoming regional regulations, Saint-Gilles will also demarcate "drop zones" for the scooters. Several designated areas, such as parks, will also be strictly forbidden territory for them. The municipal council will later evaluate whether there is a need for further fine-tuning of the regulations.
