BRUSSELS STUDIES INSTITUTE

“On 29 June 2015 Boulevard Anspach and several adjacent streets were closed for motorised traffic by the City of Brussels as part of the plan to extend the pedestrian area in the city centre of Brussels. Due to the lack of a comprehensive monitoring scheme, many stakeholders questioned the credibility and accuracy of the data published regarding the impact of the scheme. Therefore, the BSI-Brussels Centre Observatory (BSI-BCO) and the research groups VUB-MOBI and USL-B-CESIR in particular, investigated various aspects of the extension of the pedestrian area. Since the impact on mobility was quite controversial and data were hardly available to substantiate or reject the different claims that were being made, a large-scale survey was commissioned by the Cabinet of the Minister for Mobility and Public Works and the regional administration, Brussels Mobility. This survey monitors the impact of the pedestrianisation project on travel behaviour and on the perception of accessibility of the new pedestrian area and the quality of its public space. Both visits to the city centre in general (i.e. “the Pentagon”) and visits to the new pedestrian zone along Boulevard Anspach, between Place De Brouckère and Place Fontainas are subject of the survey. The first survey  was carried out in May and June 2017, while the follow-up survey is planned for 2021. In addition, an analysis of the ‘Bedrijfsvervoersplannen’ from 2017 (collected by Leefmilieu Brussel) and a comparison with the data from 2014 and 2011 was carried out to investigate how commuting in particular was affected by the pedestrianization.” For more information, click here: https://bsi-bco.brussels/the-impact-of-the-extension-of-the-pedestrian-zone-in-the-centre-of-brussels-on-mobility-accessibility-and-public-space/