Exactly a year after Brussels authorities implemented their Good Move mobility plan in the streets of the city centre, motorised traffic has dropped by a quarter and there are a third more cyclists in the Pentagon/Vijfhoek.
Like the 49 variants elsewhere in the region (most of which are not yet in motion), the circulation plan in the city centre aims to reduce transit traffic, increase safety and quality of life, and encourage Brussels residents (and visitors) to switch to cycling or public transport.
"Good Move in the Pentagon is one year old today and the first results are more than encouraging," said Brussels City Councillor for Mobility, Bart Dhondt, on social media. "27% less through traffic in the city centre, 36% more cyclists on our streets. Hip hip hurray for Good Move."
One year on, the mobility plan's impact can not only be felt in the streets of Brussels but it is also visible in the figures; the city council hired an external agency to organise three counts: in October 2021 (before the launch of Good Move), in November 2022 and in June 2023.
Over a period of 24 hours, cars, other motorised traffic and bicycles were counted on most of the roads in and out of the Pentagon, and on about 40 intersections and junctions in the centre. For motorised traffic, the count in June showed 25% fewer vehicles than in 2021 as the numbers dropped from 111,068 cars to 83,008.
The decrease is particularly evident at the intersections and junctions in the Pentagon (-27% compared to 2021 compared to -20% on the access roads and arterial roads).
"The aim of the new traffic plan was to reduce transit traffic in the residential and commercial areas of the city centre, and it succeeded," Dhondt said. "Good Move is a lever towards a city with cleaner air and safer streets for all Brussels residents, and especially for the most vulnerable among us."
Ongoing adjustments
Through Good Move, the authorities are freeing up space that they can give back to the people of Brussels, by making it more qualitative – such as Skate Park Chapelle which has become much bigger over the past year.
Only three of the 40 measuring points in the Pentagon showed that more vehicles were counted in June than before Good Move; there were slight increases on the Avenue de Stalingrad (+5%) and on the Rue Ducale-Palais junction (+9%) and a marked increase (+97%) on the Rue du Poinçon-Rue d'Accolay-Rue Philippe de Champagne axis.
Dhondt promised that adjustments would still be made in these areas: "We want fewer vehicles to be counted everywhere in the long term."
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When it comes to entrance and exit roads, nine of the 35 measuring points showed that the circulation plan caused more car traffic, instead of less.
While Dhondt promised that the authorities are also looking into making adjustments in these places, VUB mobility expert Cathy Macharis told Bruzz that it is "only logical" that certain streets have had to deal with more vehicles since Good Move.
"That is the power of a circulation plan: the pressure is concentrated in a few streets, but generally goes down. That is part of it," she said. "But in most streets, the number of vehicles does indeed take a significant dip."
