Even in these circumstances of confinement, getting on your bike is still a good way to get around in your city. The Bikes in Brussels Fund, managed by the King Baudouin Foundation, continues its work to promote the use of the bike as a favourite means of transport to travel to and in Brussels. The Fund recently decided to support four new cycle park projects – being able to leave your bike in a secure and protected place is an essential condition for using a bike in the city, but one that is often lacking. Larger-scale infrastructure projects for cyclists are also being examined. These initiatives will be further developed in the coming months, once the health crisis is over.
According to the latest figures from the Observatoire du Vélo in the Brussels-Capital Region, travel by bike continues to grow as a means of urban travel in Brussels, increasing by 8.9% in 2019 vs. 2018. The growth observed since 2010 continues, with an average annual increase of 13%. Set up at the end of 2018, within the King Baudouin Foundation, the Bikes in Brussels Fund aims to reinforce this trend. It does this by supporting the initiatives of associations, government bodies and public and private partners who encourage the use of cycles, by improving cycle infrastructure or making equipment available.
Four new projects to create cycle parks have been selected for support amounting to a total of 211,360 euros. This brings to 19 the total number of projects supported since the creation of the Bikes in Brussels Fund, which has already provided over 1.5 million euros in support for the promotion of cycle use for getting around in and to the Brussels-Capital Region. And it’s not finished! A number of cyclist infrastructure projects are also currently being examined and the call for projects is ongoing.
Cycle shelters
With the aim of encouraging pupils, parents and teachers to choose the cycle to get to school, several schools in Brussels are creating safe and protected cycle shelters over the coming months. The commune of Etterbeek will also create 12 covered cycle shelters for medium-term parking. These are projects which, due to a lack of available budget, could not be undertaken without the support of the Bikes in Brussels Fund.
- In Anderlecht, two cycle shelters, each with a capacity for 48 bikes will be set up in the local park, opposite the schools of the Institut Marie Immaculée (French-speaking nursery, primary and secondary schools) and the Instituut Maria Onbevlekt (Dutch-speaking nursery and primary schools). Parking places will also be foreseen for local residents living near the schools. 77,793 euros has been allocated for this project.
- In Auderghem, the Sainte Bernadette School foresees a new cycle shed for use by the pupils and members of staff, in both primary and secondary education. This project, which is part of the school extension, will receive 46,317 euros.
- In Etterbeek, a covered cycle shelter will be built at the Basisschool Koninklijk Atheneum Etterbeek (Dutch-speaking nursery and primary school divisions of the secondary school). The school will also conduct activities to raise awareness about bikes and have VeloFixer come to the school to enable children and their parents to repair their bikes. The Bikes in Brussels Fund is allocating 7,250 euros for this project.
- Still in the commune of Etterbeek, the project ‘No more wet cycle saddles’ aims to increase the number of covered average-stay parking places, so that cyclists can leave their bikes safely and return to a dry saddle in both winter and summer. Twelve shelters will be built by the commune, close to the Mérode rail station (SNCB and STIB) and the sites for car sharing cars. This project is financed in its entirety by the Bikes in Brussels Fund, for a total of 80,000 euros.
If you would like to have further information about any of these projects, please contact Cathy Verbyst (verbyst.c@kbs-frb.be, 02 549 02 78, 0478 75 01 41). We will be delighted to put you in touch with the appropriate organisations.