The mayor of Anderlecht Fabrice Cumps (PS) proposes to start from scratch in the development of the new traffic plan for the district of Cureghem, at the origin of strong tensions in the municipality.
The decision, which has yet to be negotiated with its majority partners Ecolo-Groen, should be confirmed in the coming days.
“As with every project, there are supporters and opponents. That doesn’t worry me. But what concerns me here are the reactions emanating from this neighborhood. There are the historical inhabitants, of North African origin, who believe that the plan is against them and designed for newcomers, but this is not at all correct. We introduced it to improve living conditions in the neighborhood“, comments Mr. Cumps.
The implementation of the first road improvements has led to strong resistance from some residents and traders in recent days, with sabotage and sometimes threats as a result. This is why the mayor decided to intervene, he justifies himself today.
A question of social cohesion
Ecolo-Groen does not seem ready for the moment to abandon the traffic plan or to rewrite it completely, but the mayor nevertheless considers it necessary to intervene to regain the confidence of the inhabitants.
“I’m afraid that social cohesion in the neighborhood will decline sharply. However, as mayor, I must ensure this cohesion. Hence my proposal not to continue temporarily with this new plan and to start from scratch, with everyone around the table“.
“We’re going to do it differently. The mistake we made was wanting to change everything at once, when Cureghem is a big area. The idea now is to cut this zone into several parts and to work more locally, district by district. There were also things that worked well. We can therefore go gradually and take further measures in the months to come.“, concludes Mr. Cumps.