2023-09-16 05:11:00
Between free parking, disc zones and paid parking, which is the best choice? “There is no miracle solution,” Jean-Luc Calonger, president of the Association of Town Center Management (AMCV), told us in January.
Blue zone, paid parking or free parking: looking for the miracle solution in the city
In Brussels, the Region has made its choice. For several weeks, an ordinance has governed parking. With an impact on the portfolio revised upwards. “It has become unaffordable,” comments Hassan, a gynecologist in Brussels.
Hassan had to pay €22 for 4.5 hours of parking. “Parking is becoming a luxury,” he laments. ©DR
The man knows what he’s talking about: when he went to his medical center on Avenue Louise, he only had to pay €12.50 for 4.5 hours of parking, just a few weeks ago. Today, the price has now increased to €22! “It’s almost double,” he comments. Personally, I need my car to get around in an emergency. It’s a necessity for me. And if I have the misfortune of going a few minutes longer because I had to stay longer with a patient, I risk a fine which has also increased.”
The man understands that we must avoid cars that stagnate all day in the same place. “But we also have to think about the people who sometimes have difficulty making ends meet. The prices are exaggerated.”
Hassan had to pay €22 for 4.5 hours of parking on Avenue Louise. “It has become unaffordable,” he rages. ©JC Guillaume
In Jette, Mélanie suffered the same mishap. Having recently spent the afternoon at her parents’ house with her children aged 4 months and 3 years, she said she was stunned by the final score. “I paid €20 for 4 hours of parking, it’s enormous,” she laments. However, she could have parked in the Place du Miroir parking lot, located within a reasonable walking distance. “But it is too far away to park there when I am with my two young children.”
Paid parking lots in residential areas: “We are not cash cows”
Described as “thieves” on social networks, the agency parking.brussels clears his mind: “We apply the rates set up by the Brussels parking ordinance”how Pierre Vassart, his spokesperson.
Contacted, the Brussels Region, through its Minister of Mobility, Elke Van den Brandt, assumes. With a justification which, even if it makes sense, will not please everyone. “Our policy is to encourage alternatives to parking in the city,” comments Marie Thibaut de Maisières, press secretary to the Brussels minister. And parking policy is an essential lever in this area. The objective of the new ordinance is to encourage off-street parking by directing motorists to underground or multi-storey car parks (Editor’s note: Interparking) or BePark (Editor’s note: public parking in company and supermarket car parks). ,…). But before the ordinance, these were not competitive and motorists preferred to turn around, sometimes for long minutes, in the neighborhoods in order to find a place on the street.”
The will of the Brussels Minister of Mobility is accepted: to encourage motorists to park in underground car parks rather than on the road. ©ennio cameriere
From now on, with the increase in surface prices, parking lots granted to Interparking or managed by BePark have become cheaper than those on the surface. “We hope that the first instinct of motorists who come to the city center to park is to look for an off-road space.”
Final objective: free up public space dedicated to cars to return it to pedestrians and boost the attractiveness of the city center. “This makes it possible to improve public space by recovering spaces dedicated to parking to make them more warm and welcoming. By planting green areas, setting up terraces for cafes and restaurants as we have been able to do, with some success, in the center with the pedestrian area.”
The Region would like to get rid of on-street parking spaces to make the space more attractive. ©JEAN LUC FLEMAL
For the minister herself, the situation in Brussels could no longer continue. “53% of Brussels households do not own a car,” says Elke Van den Brandt. This is the case for 70% of the poorest quarter of the population. However, the car occupies 72% of public space, particularly in more precarious neighborhoods, where residents do not have gardens or green spaces. Public space is therefore the extension of their housing. We want to make our streets and squares more pleasant, greener, more welcoming. But currently, a lot of space is taken up by parked cars. So we want to encourage people to stop parking on the street.”
At present, 11 municipalities apply rates harmonized by the Region. The others (Auderghem, Brussels City, Etterbeek, St-Gilles, St-Josse, Uccle, and the two Woluwe) apply them partially or not at all. They could be forced to do so if the supervisory authority or the government deemed it necessary. The other route would be legal action but, given the lower prices in these municipalities, it is doubtful that a motorist would decide to go that route.
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