500,000 euros to encourage cycle use to and in Brussels
Four projects destined to improve the infrastructure for cyclists have been awarded support from the Bikes in Brussels Fund, managed by the King Baudouin Foundation. This is the second round of projects selected by the Fund, which aims to encourage more people to get around by bike in and to the capital and accounts for over 500,000 euros in support.
Fewer traffic jams, cleaner air and a more pleasant city. The Bikes in Brussels Fund was set up at the end of 2018 with a view to encouraging cycle use. It provides financial support for associations, government bodies and private and public partners that encourage the use of bicycles through improving infrastructure or making material available. Several times a year, the Bikes in Brussels Fund selects a number of projects from the applications received, to which they award support that can go up to as much as a maximum of one million euros.
For this second round, four projects have been selected and will benefit from a total of 526,160 euros.
– The Royal Uccle Sport Hockey and Tennis Club, which has a membership of 1,500 and welcomes some 35,000 visitors per year, wants to encourage players to take to their bikes not only to go to the club, but also when they play matches away. The club has therefore decided to install parking spaces for up to 60 bikes and to raise awareness among the players about cycle use, including via a competition between the various teams to encourage them to make a maximum of trips by cycle. The club has been awarded 12,600 euros for this project.
– The VeloSc(h)ool of the commune of Saint-Gilles has two components. One part is the designation of twenty cycle roads where the cycle has priority over the car and which constitute six itineraries that enable cyclists to get across the commune. The financial support received for the project will be used for aspects such as signalling and the planting of 30 trees in the wider streets, which will have the effect of slowing down the traffic. Secondly, the ‘vélothèque’ (cycletheque) will be increased, thanks to the purchase of a number of cycles as well as more introduction courses in all of the commune’s primary schools. The total project has been given 106,000 euros.
– The municipality of Jette is being awarded support for its project to create a bridge for cyclists and pedestrians that will enable them to safely cross the extremely busy Rue Eugène Toussaint, at the Drève de Rivieren. This will provide the missing link for ‘soft mobility’ in the commune, through the creation of much safer access to the Parc Roi Baudouin. The project is currently being studied and an award of over 178,000 euros will enable the project to be undertaken as of August 2020.
– The municipality of Schaerbeek has already planned the purchase and installation of 20 cycle storage boxes in which residents can keep their cycles in total safety, near to their homes. The 230,000 euros awarded to this latest project will enable a further 50 cycle storage boxes to be installed. Following a public invitation to tender, the boxes will be installed and put into service in 2020-2021. Management of the project will be in collaboration with the CyCLO association.
If you would like to know more about any of these projects, we will be delighted to put you in touch with the organisations concerned.
King Baudouin Foundation
info@kbs-frb.be
Rue Brederodestraat 21
1000 Brussels
02-500 45 55