From now on, certain bicycle paths in Brussels can be built without a permit after the Brussels Government approved a series of decisions on urban planning exemptions, in a bid to overcome bureaucratic hurdles and speed up Brussels' cycling mobility infrastructure.
The regulations concern projects that are small in size and permits that have limited duration, including certain marked cycle paths, State Secretary for Urban Planning Pascal Smet reports.
“Brussels needs speed and efficiency,” Smet said. “These simplified procedures will make the lives of many Brussels residents easier. From now on, residents of Brussels can more easily use their homes for a liberal profession or to give private courses.”
That means the construction of marked cycle paths on municipal roads and their separation with soft posts no longer requires a permit, and neither does the removal of a parking strip to create a cycling path.
More than cycling lanes
Bicycle lanes are not the only thing that will be shredded of permit requirements, as solar panels and street art murals will also no longer need a permit. The same applies to raising a roof to insulate it, provided that the GSV (Regional Urban Planning Regulation Good Living) is complied with.
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The maximum period of six months now applies to social or cultural projects or projects linked to an exceptional situation, such as an emergency, a crisis or a situation resulting in exceptional needs.
Homeless shelters will also no longer require permits and neither does street art and murals in public spaces, the maintenance of tall trees, water management systems, solar panels, water pumps and a range of interventions at construction sites and road works. Certain conditions are attached to each of these exemptions.
