The Brussels municipality of Forest has finally given the go-ahead for its Good Move mobility plan in the Neerstalle neighbourhood, but the changes will not be implemented until after the municipal elections at the end of 2024.
The seed for a new mobility plan in the heart of Forest was planted back in 2016. Plans to increase road safety and improve quality of life in the area are now finally taking shape following several studies and citizen participation talks.
At the heart of the circulation plan are the key locations of Avenue Kersbeek and Rue de la Soierie, with the latter being transformed into a one-way street.
"The direction was chosen to ensure access to the neighbourhood and limit the displacement of external traffic (and the associated nuisance) to the residential streets. These changes will take effect as soon as the works on Chaussée de Neerstalle and Place Saint-Denis are completed," the Forest municipality explained.
'Convince as many residents as possible'
On the Avenue Kersbeek square, a meeting area will be re-established and the intersection will transformed to create a safer area. On part of the road, one-way traffic will enforced and a bicycle street will be created. Many other streets will also be adapted.
There are two phases to the mobility plan, Forest city councillor Esmeralda Van den Bosch told Bruzz. "The safety measures should be in place by the beginning of next year, the circulation plans will only be in place when the construction site on the Chaussée de Neerstalle is finished."
The city council mainly opted for one-way streets and cycle lanes to create the effect of traffic filters, instead of concrete blocks (as seen in the Anderlecht neighbourhood of Cureghem). The changes should start at the end of 2024, but Van den Bosch denies that the timing has anything to do with the municipal elections taking place in the autumn of that year.
"If we want to encourage people to travel more by bike and public transport, the setting has to be attractive," she said. "The setting must lend itself to that behavioural change, because we want to convince as many residents as possible of our plans."
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A series of discussions have taken place between the municipality and concerned residents in recent years. "The discussions have been conducted with respect. The situation is not black or white, and if you want to move towards a better neighbourhood everyone has to compromise."
Whether the plans will definitely become reality – after the Good Move protests and scaled-back plans in Anderlecht and Schaerbeek specifically – is "not entirely certain," Van den Bosch said, "but of course the municipal administration is behind the plans and the timing."
