Following two nights of protests against the implementation of the Good Move mobility plan in the Cage-aux-Ours district in the Brussels municipality of Schaerbeek, proponents of the plan gathered on the same square to express their support for the traffic changes in their neighbourhood.
At Place Stephenson, road signs were unscrewed and several bollards that were placed on Monday to filter traffic were removed as about 100 protestors showed their dissatisfaction with the changes to the Good Move plan, which aims to make the neighbourhood largely car-free.
"Given the inaction and cowardice of the Schaerbeek municipal authorities, I decided to come and restore the traffic plan myself this morning," said Schaerbeek resident Vincent Flibustier on Twitter, alongside a video of him putting back the traffic bollards that were illegally removed on Tuesday night by opponents of the Good Move plan.
In the video, Flibustier explained that he is outraged by the protests of the last two nights. On Monday and Tuesday evening, people gathered at Place Stephenson and Place du Pavillon to undo the work of the municipal services over the weekend.
On Tuesday night, two police officers and a fireman were injured after they had to extinguish a small fire, after which some demonstrators pelted them with eggs. The fire fighter was hit in the eye and taken to hospital.
"I did not recognise anyone from our neighbourhood. They are opponents of the Good Move plan who do not live here, but are coming here to make themselves heard anyway," Flibustier said, adding that they are supported by local members of the liberal MR, socialist PS and radical left PVDA/PTB parties, who were also present. "The municipality is not punishing them for their actions."
Flibustier, who has lived in the Stephenson neighbourhood for five years, stated that many local residents do support the Good Move plan as it tackles a number of issues they find important, in spite of the illusion now being created by this week's protests.
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"The traffic sometimes makes it unlivable, not to mention the car races: drivers pull up loudly and drive more than 100 km/h through the streets. This is life-threatening," he said. "There is also a lot of transit traffic. The Good Move plan will make the neighbourhood livable again."
Opponents are making themselves clear by shouting very loudly and in such an aggressive way that those in favour of the changes are sometimes afraid to voice their opinions, said Flibustier. "But rest assured: the proponents are there. We have a WhatsApp group with about 50 members, all from the neighbourhood."
On Wednesday, the group met at 16:00 at Place Stephenson to voice their support. In addition to city councillor Adelheid Byttebier, some 25 opponents also showed up. Both groups discussed the issue with each other without escalations.
