News
Week of Mobility 2021: School Streets in action
23. Aug 2021
The starting point of a liveable city is to guarantee the health and safety of the most vulnerable people: schoolchildren. That is why, together with Citytools and Filter Café Filtré, we are supervising the implementation of School Streets in different places in Brussels, in commission of the City of Brussels. This year, we use the Week of Mobility (16-22 September) to put School Streets in the spotlight and on the agenda.
By introducing a School Street in a school environment, busy traffic is limited as much as possible. It also encourages pupils, parents and staff to go to school in an active way. This is healthy for the children, good for the air quality and makes it a lot quieter and safer at the school gates in the morning and evening.
We are now launching the first tests with School Streets! On Monday 23 August the test phase started in the Vlaamsesteenweg: two large planters stop motorised traffic coming from the smaller Ringroad. In the long term, the Vlaamsesteenweg, the Sleutelstraat and the Oppemstraat will become traffic-free streets. The test should determine whether the part of the Vlaamsesteenweg between the Sleutelstraat and the Nieuwpoortlaan can become a dead end, so that the intersection with the Small Ring becomes safer.
On 16 September, on the eve of Mobility Week, we will launch the second test in Dageraadstraat. There, we will close Dageraadstraat to motorised traffic every morning and evening on weekdays for three months. If this test proves successful, Dageraadstraat will also become a School Street in the long term.
Take a look at one of the test environments during the Week of Mobility! During this week, we would also like to focus on multiplying these first initiatives. In several school districts, we organise walks with schools. Together with them, we explore what interventions can make the school environments safer and healthier School Streets. In this way, together we take steps towards a long-term vision for School Streets on the scale of the whole city.
