With ever more people enjoying the ease of getting around Brussels on foot, running has become increasingly popular. To accommodate this growing trend the region is now looking to improve routes in the aim of removing any barrier to strolling or running in the city.
One in five people who do regular sport in Brussels go running and more are opting to walk. Yet in many parts of town, the dense urban environment obstructs easy pedestrian movement, serving as a block that the City is keen to remove.
"Walking in the city shouldn't mean going for kilometres at a stretch in the shadow of buildings. All Brussels communes aim to provide a suitable framework for strollers and runners," said Bernard Clerfayt, Brussels Minister of Local Authorities.
"But we recognise that such routes are not always clearly marked and that their design could often be improved."
Looking to the future
The region's spatial planning bureau has drawn up plans for several routes in Brussels that would be suitable for runners as part of a new strategy "Be running" combining spatial planning, mobility, and sport.
This should allow pedestrians of all speeds to use tailored routes to move between green spaces or other popular places for running or walking. Importantly, they would be optimised to harmonise with other modes of transport.
The region will develop a map with a number of routes from east to west and from north to south connecting the Brussels parks. It will also create a guide to help authorities best adapt public space for a better public experience. This will be incorporated into the "handbook for public space projects" and will be key when revising infrastructure.
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In the short term, the courses can be downloaded via sports apps and the online platform sport.brussels, but in the long term, a guide for authorities will help the region to better adapt its infrastructure to walkers, joggers and pedestrians.
"This strategy should enable us to connect greenways and make Brussels residents even more eager to discover the city on foot," Mobility Minister Elke Van den Brandt concluded.
