The Brussels-Capital Region Government is aiming to install around 3,000 parking spaces or drop-off zones for electric scooters, with new spaces to be added in each municipality.
According to the office of the Brussels Minister for Mobility, Elke Van den Brandt, the ambitious objective was calculated by a research office.
“At this stage, Brussels Mobility has created around a hundred (parking spaces) on regional roads. The municipalities have submitted requests for subsidies in order to install them. These requests are being analysed. In the region and associated municipalities, we think we can equip public roads with 1,000 drop-off zones this summer,” a spokesperson for the minister told the Belga news agency.
Even if municipalities do not win the subsidies, they will still receive support to construct numerous scooter parking areas on their territory. “Funding will be distributed between the various requesting municipalities,” the communication manager of Brussels Mobility, Camille Thiry, assured.
A regional ordinance aimed at imposing the obligatory parking of shared scooters and bicycles in reserved areas was already validated by the Brussels parliament last year. The implementation of this decree is still ongoing.
The bill passed at first reading but has been sent for opinion by various groups. The decree must also be approved by the Council of State. Thiry hopes that the bill will finally be adopted by the summer.
According to François Descamps, spokesperson for Brussels Mobility Councillor Bart Dhont, there are already around 60 parking spaces for scooters across the city. “On the occasion of the Plaisirs d’Hiver, about thirty drop zones had been set up within the perimeter of the event and they are still in use,” he said.
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The City of Brussels already plans to create 681 spaces within the town centre. The municipality of Jette has also published a list of 67 parking spots for scooters within its municipal limits.
Last September, the municipality of Uccle finally had enough of poorly parked scooters on its territory and banned the scooters from being parked in its area, until the Brussels Region’s scooter parking plan is officialised.
