Car-free Sunday in Belgium held in 37 municipalities and Brussels

Mobility Week is coming to an end on Sunday with a Car-Free Day, taking place all over Belgium. The event is held in 37 cities and municipalities and in the Brussels-Capital Region with its 19 municipalities.

The Car-Free Sunday event takes place each year during European Mobility Week, every third week of September. The Mobility Week promotes behavioural change in favour of active mobility, public transport, and other clean, intelligent transport solutions. On the Car-Free Day, roads are closed to motorised traffic, with the exception of public transport, emergency vehicles and individuals who apply in advance for an exemption. 

From 9.30 am to 7 pm, the entire Brussels-Capital Region will be in general closed to motorised traffic. The speed limit for cars with an exemption status is limited to 30 km per hour. People can still get around the city by public transport, they can even use the MIVB/STIB transport and the De Lijn buses in Brussels free of charge during the event.

A total of 52 Belgian cities and municipalities are organising a Car-Free Day. Most are doing so this Sunday, as the culmination of Mobility Week, some at another time. This year, for instance, Herentals and Leuven already kicked off the series of car-free days on Sunday 25 August. Poperinge and Zwevegem conclude the series on 6 October.

That both large central cities such as Kortrijk, Leuven and Genk and smaller municipalities such as Harelbeke, Wijnegem, Bilzen and Muizen are participating is, according to the non-profit association Mobiel 21, “a strong signal with great symbolic value”. “With climate change and the growing focus on liveable and resilient cities and towns, car-free days are more relevant today than ever,” stated the organisation.

The full programme of Car-Free Sunday can be found on the Mobility Week website.

^{Car-Free Sunday in the Brussels-Capital Region, Sunday 17 September 2023 © BELGA PHOTO HATIM KAGHAT}