The City of Brussels is making the slopes in front of the Justice Palace car-free from today, to put an end to illegal parking in front of the building.
Over the course of Monday, flower boxes and bollards were being installed on the slopes of the Justice Palace, announced alderman for Urban Development Ans Persoons via Twitter.
"We will look back on the cars here, just as we now look back on the Grand Place which was once full of cars," said Persoons, adding that illegally parked cars in the area have caused problems for local residents for years.
Het is zover: met paaltjes & bloembakken maken we een einde aan de illegale parking op de hellingen v/h Justitiepaleis. Bedankt aan @zpz_polbru om dit mee in goede banen te leiden! Een majestueuze promenade tussen boven- en benedenstad wordt zo in ere hersteld. @PhilippeClose pic.twitter.com/fOj3joNsFg
— Ans Persoons (@AnsPersoons) March 1, 2021
Previously, she had already stated that the many cars on the ramps in front of the courthouse “dishonour the building’s patrimonial beauty.”
From now on, access to the slope between Place Poelaert and the Rue des Minimes will be limited to pedestrians and cyclists only.
“We are pleased that this public area will be reserved for the public and soft mobility," said Laurent Vrijdaghs, Administrator General of the Buildings Authority, in early February.
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Politically speaking, the slope is an important link to connect the lower and the upper parts of the city. Additionally, the Marolles neighbourhood lacks quality public spaces where people can gather in the open air.
The City will now meet the residents of the Marolles district to look into how the area can be made greener and a more pleasant public space, by adding benches or lighting, for example.
The move is part of a larger push to reduce car traffic in Brussels city centre, alongside the recent introduction of a generalised zone 30 across the Capital Region, and plans to pedestrianise most of the Place Royale.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
