A ninth Park-and-Ride will be opened in the north of Brussels from the start of next year, meaning there are now parking facilities connected to public transport at all the major entrances to the city.
The Brussels Region will open an additional peripheral car park in the north of the capital at the Heysel plateau on 8 January. The purpose of these car parks is to encourage people travelling to Brussels to park at the region's borders instead of taking the car into the centre. Here, they can easily switch to the network of public transport operator STIB.
"We want to make Brussels a more pleasant city for its residents and visitors by reducing traffic jams and through traffic," said Mobility Minister Elke Van den Brandt.
"And we want to offer all kinds of mobility alternatives to make Brussels even more easily accessible. That's why we're further expanding our P+R offer for people who want to travel to Brussels by car." The P+Rs are 'created' by using existing but underused spaces and making these available to commuters.
Almost 3,000 parking spots
The car park is located on Avenue Impératrice Charlotte, close to the King Baudouin station and is accessible via the Wemmel exit on the Brussels ring road. This is the second P+R in the north of Brussels after the car park with 50 spaces at the UZ Brussel opened in December one year ago.
"With the 100 parking spaces made available by Brussels Expo near Heysel metro station, commuters can easily reach the north of the city and have access to the many public transport connections," said Philippe Close, Mayor of the City of Brussels.
The other P+Rs in the region are located at Lennik-Erasme, CERIA, Stalle, Delta, Herrmann-Debroux, Kraainem and Roodebeek. Together, the sites account for 2,777 parking spots for cars.
The new car park is accessible Monday to Friday between 06:00 and 22:00, however, it is reserved for future P+R subscribers. This parking pass is free for commuters who have STIB season tickets and work more than two kilometres from the car park.
"But there are other paying car parks at Heysel for those who want to do their shopping in town on Saturdays, for example," Van den Brandt's spokesperson told The Brussels Times.
