Could Bois de la Cambre (Terkamerenbos) become a car-free zone? This is the demand of a new petition, signed already by more than 6000 people. We share below the story and reasoning behind this idea, taken from the Avaaz petition page.
In the wake of the corona crisis, the city of Brussels has recently taken important steps to improve mobility the use of public spaces. A great example is the unification of the Ossegem parc and the Park of Laeken, the installation of new bike lanes, car-free streets, low-speed ‘woonerf’ areas that give priority to pedestrians and cyclists, and the mayor’s recent proposal to maintain, after the corona crisis is over, the closure to car traffic of the Bois de la Cambre on Saturdays and holidays. We would like to encourage the city to be more ambitious, and to close the Terkamerenbos to all car traffic for good.
A logical step:
An ever-smaller proportion of the workforce sticks to classic Monday to Friday schedules. People working in healthcare, for example, who often work weekends and nights. For them, and for people from an increasing number of sectors, a park that essentially becomes a racetrack Monday to Friday, is anachronistic. On top of that, the corona crisis has promoted teleworking. For many this change may become permanent. As a result, an increasing amount of city dwellers need sufficient, accessible green spaces on weekdays to exercise in the morning, afternoon, or evening, or just to take a break in between shifts. New York’s Central Park has been completely car-free since 2018. None of the feared chaos and additional traffic jams materialised. In much smaller Brussels, capital of Europe, we could certainly do the same. The three-lane highway that currently cuts through the park unnecessarily redundantly adds to the ample capacity of two parallel arteries: the Chaussée de Waterloo, and the Avenue Roosevelt. Closing off the roads inside Terkameren in no way compromises the accessibility of Brussels, nor of nearby Uccle, where people will continue to live, shop, and visit beautiful oasis of tranquility.
Interested to support this idea? Sign the petition here.
