'Good Move' circulation plan cuts car traffic in Brussels by a fifth

Since the introduction of the new circulation plan, there has been some 19 per cent less car traffic in the Brussels 'Vijfhoek', the area located within the Small Ring Road around the Belgian capital. Furthermore, bicycle traffic grew by a fifth. The introduction of the 'Good Move' circulation plan thus seems a success, even though local bottlenecks remain, writes BRUZZ.

Although its introduction was bumpy, initial figures suggest that the circulation plan in the Pentagon is doing what it promises: significantly fewer cars are driving around, while the number of cyclists is increasing. ​

The city conducted a manual measurement to compile the figures before and after the plan's introduction. The count occurred during the morning and evening rush hour at 45 intersections within the Pentagon and 30 spots on the Small Ring Road.

On that Small Ring Road, the number of cars entering or exiting the Pentagon was down by 16 per cent. However, there remain differences in location, as at some sites, the number of cars remains almost the same. Inbound traffic shrank drastically, while outbound traffic grew equally sharply.

Within the Vijfhoek, 19.2 per cent fewer cars were counted after the introduction of the circulation plan. Nevertheless, problems remain, as traffic on several streets today still seems more substantial than before the plan was introduced.

A commonly heard argument against the circulation plan is that the city is pushing car traffic to the already saturated Small Ring Road, although figures from GPS providers contradict that. For example, in January 2023, it took exactly one hour to drive down the entire Small Ring Road during rush hour. That's five minutes faster than before the COVID-19 pandemic and barely slower than in spring 2021.

The count also included the number of cyclists, which has grown by a fifth in a year.

^{© BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK}