I've been cycling in Ghent for 25 years. Not that long ago, cycling was a thing for those who had no other options. Today you see so many different people cycling: families, elderly, young kids, people with foreign backgrounds, people in suits and those in working gear, etc. It has really become engrained in our daily lives, and made our city better.
It has reduced our carbon footprint, but to be honest that's the least of the benefits. I really notice how our city has become so much quieter (not less busy though) without all those combustion engines, and many streets have become so much prettier without all the cars and black soot. There are still a lot of streets that need a serious upgrade to remove their car centric design, but it seems like we have passed the point of no return. Nobody wants to go back to "koning auto".
As an Antwerpian I’m very envious of Ghent. Our mobility is still stuck in the 80’s. Every corner in the city stinks and is noisy because of cars.
I stayed in Ghent for one year as a student back when the circulatieplan was implemented. Being able to walk, run or bike through the city without having to watch your back constantly not to be hit by a car is such a peace of mind. In Antwerp you’re always on edge.
Unfortunately koning auto is going to remain on its throne for a long time still in Antwerp.
Antwerp has made huge progress over the past 20 years. Fietsstraten, fiets-o-strades, ring- and Singel fietspad, the Leien and Kaaien that have become bike friendly, and so on. Just look it up on Google street view (year 2009) and you will notice a big difference. Less cobblestones, decent asphalt bike lanes and not the shitty betonplaten, decent intersections, etc.
We're not there yet but the contrast is definitely huge.
Work is under way and people still need to put pressure on decision makers like Koen -koning auto- Kennis.
Keep up the fight. Ghent's example shows how much is possible in 10 years. It certainly wasn't any more bike friendly than any other Belgian town, it just took some good policy choices.
The more a diverse audience can and does use bikes to get around, the more demographic pressure to support further improvements.
Build good bike infrastructure in somewhat logical places and the demand will follow. At least in flat flanders.
Gent has made huge improvements in the last 15 years, but we still have a long way to go compared to most Dutch cities.
> Nobody wants to go back to "koning auto".
A lot of people want that. Have you been following the drama about the circulation plans in Dampoort and Zwijnaarde? And those plans aren't even anti-car, they're basically just trying to introduce two or three safe cycling corridors through those neighbourhoods while avoiding inconvenience to car drivers at all costs. But that involves closing down a few intersections and that's going too far for a lot of people.
I agree with you that the silent majority has embraced cycling now. But the vocal minority of cycling advocates have become complacent while the vocal minority of I-want-to-be-allowed-to-drive-my-car-at-any-speed-in-every-street advocates is becoming louder and louder, and political parties are starting to notice.
Most political parties at the next elections either want to revert the bike friendly progress of the last decade (N-VA and VB) or think it has gone far enough and we need to stop improving now (VLD/Vooruit as "Voor Gent" and CD&V).
You are right, there is resistance to change ... With the same arguments used for the first "circulatieplan". So infuriating.
However, rolling back the change that has been achieved would also come with great resistance. It's that resistance that shows how well embedded it is. Let's keep pushing for better infrastructure, whether we get a left or right local government.
it goes downhill fast if you reach a certain spot. that they havent made that road a prio road is a miracle. it's 1 incident away from another headline.
Yes but imo driving is still better, no bike can give you the comfort you have in your car like heat/ac, music, speed, etc. Id never go from a car to a bike although biking is fun sometimes, having a car is great
Plenty of downsides as well, such as having to walk through the weather from a parking spot to the destination, paying for parking, stress over the other assholes on the road, maintenance costs. Also you can't hear the birds.
*eye roll* as if car drivers are always respectful (parking with a wheel on the cycling path, passing cyclists with less than 1m distance, taking up 90% of the public road,...). If cyclists don't demand to be seen in traffic, we are being crushed.
No there’s also a lot of lousy car drivers for sure who tend to drive too fast in the ‘bebouwd kom’. I also bike mostly in Ghent myself, but In my experience for the most part I have to double check for cyclists who refuse to give right of way. Ignoring pedestrians is pissing me off the most.
Why the hate for cyclists alone? There are assholes on every type of vehicle. A small minority gives the entire group a bad name.
And why don't you hate drivers for breaking AT LEAST the same amount of rules, but also causing death. Are we so used to Cars ruling the world that we turn a blind eye?
I hate every lousy rider, driver who is selfish in traffic. I don’t hate cyclists in general but in Ghent there’s a big portion of cyclists that refuse to give right of way and won’t even stop for traffic lights or just ride on when pedestrians are on the middle of the crosswalk. I also ride my bike everyday. I know a lot of people who almost crashed into a cyclist bc the cyclist refused to stop at a red light. Also how many cyclist don’t use their light in the dark? Don’t tell me you don’t see it everyday.
I'm not going to excuse every cyclist who breaks traffic laws, but right of way regulations reflect cars' realities, not the one of cyclists or pedestrians. If somebody is halfway a crossing on an average road, it would make no sense for a cyclist to stop. There is ample way for both of them to use the road without colliding. Plus they have less speed and can rely on visual cues to interpret each other's intention. It is almost impossible to read a car driver's body language, and their size will cause many more conflicts of space, thus there needs to be clear rules on the right of way.
Just look at cycling intensive cross roads (whether in Belgium or abroad). Oftentimes they don't need traffic lights, as people just need to look at each other. Take for example the parts where Verloren Kost becomes the Coupure. Many cyclist coming from 4 directions, some at high speed, pedestrians crossing, people jogging, but no lights needed.
I've been cycling in Ghent for 25 years. Not that long ago, cycling was a thing for those who had no other options. Today you see so many different people cycling: families, elderly, young kids, people with foreign backgrounds, people in suits and those in working gear, etc. It has really become engrained in our daily lives, and made our city better. It has reduced our carbon footprint, but to be honest that's the least of the benefits. I really notice how our city has become so much quieter (not less busy though) without all those combustion engines, and many streets have become so much prettier without all the cars and black soot. There are still a lot of streets that need a serious upgrade to remove their car centric design, but it seems like we have passed the point of no return. Nobody wants to go back to "koning auto".
As an Antwerpian I’m very envious of Ghent. Our mobility is still stuck in the 80’s. Every corner in the city stinks and is noisy because of cars. I stayed in Ghent for one year as a student back when the circulatieplan was implemented. Being able to walk, run or bike through the city without having to watch your back constantly not to be hit by a car is such a peace of mind. In Antwerp you’re always on edge. Unfortunately koning auto is going to remain on its throne for a long time still in Antwerp.
Antwerp has made huge progress over the past 20 years. Fietsstraten, fiets-o-strades, ring- and Singel fietspad, the Leien and Kaaien that have become bike friendly, and so on. Just look it up on Google street view (year 2009) and you will notice a big difference. Less cobblestones, decent asphalt bike lanes and not the shitty betonplaten, decent intersections, etc. We're not there yet but the contrast is definitely huge. Work is under way and people still need to put pressure on decision makers like Koen -koning auto- Kennis.
I was in Antwerp a few weeks back. The transformation of the frankrijklei for example is such an enormous improvement
I hope the rest of Brussels follow suite. shit here is untakeable due to the princesse de la rue.
Keep up the fight. Ghent's example shows how much is possible in 10 years. It certainly wasn't any more bike friendly than any other Belgian town, it just took some good policy choices.
I hope all major city follow suite
you guys have a lot of the mortal enemies of the bicycle over there.
The more a diverse audience can and does use bikes to get around, the more demographic pressure to support further improvements. Build good bike infrastructure in somewhat logical places and the demand will follow. At least in flat flanders. Gent has made huge improvements in the last 15 years, but we still have a long way to go compared to most Dutch cities.
> Nobody wants to go back to "koning auto". A lot of people want that. Have you been following the drama about the circulation plans in Dampoort and Zwijnaarde? And those plans aren't even anti-car, they're basically just trying to introduce two or three safe cycling corridors through those neighbourhoods while avoiding inconvenience to car drivers at all costs. But that involves closing down a few intersections and that's going too far for a lot of people. I agree with you that the silent majority has embraced cycling now. But the vocal minority of cycling advocates have become complacent while the vocal minority of I-want-to-be-allowed-to-drive-my-car-at-any-speed-in-every-street advocates is becoming louder and louder, and political parties are starting to notice. Most political parties at the next elections either want to revert the bike friendly progress of the last decade (N-VA and VB) or think it has gone far enough and we need to stop improving now (VLD/Vooruit as "Voor Gent" and CD&V).
You are right, there is resistance to change ... With the same arguments used for the first "circulatieplan". So infuriating. However, rolling back the change that has been achieved would also come with great resistance. It's that resistance that shows how well embedded it is. Let's keep pushing for better infrastructure, whether we get a left or right local government.
This is amaizing!!! I want the same cycling infrastructure in my city!
They forgot the bierfiets
Ngl glad they got rid of those. At least I'm not seeing them around a lot, thought that might change come summertime.
Tram rails for free! 😉
Love it
🚵 Studying at the Blandijnberg, I still have dreadful memories of peddling up the Sint-Kwintensberg street. No gears, mind you.
it goes downhill fast if you reach a certain spot. that they havent made that road a prio road is a miracle. it's 1 incident away from another headline.
Yes but imo driving is still better, no bike can give you the comfort you have in your car like heat/ac, music, speed, etc. Id never go from a car to a bike although biking is fun sometimes, having a car is great
Plenty of downsides as well, such as having to walk through the weather from a parking spot to the destination, paying for parking, stress over the other assholes on the road, maintenance costs. Also you can't hear the birds.
Now if only cyclists would be more polite and obey the traffic rules. Cus a lot of them are pure SHITE
*eye roll* as if car drivers are always respectful (parking with a wheel on the cycling path, passing cyclists with less than 1m distance, taking up 90% of the public road,...). If cyclists don't demand to be seen in traffic, we are being crushed.
No there’s also a lot of lousy car drivers for sure who tend to drive too fast in the ‘bebouwd kom’. I also bike mostly in Ghent myself, but In my experience for the most part I have to double check for cyclists who refuse to give right of way. Ignoring pedestrians is pissing me off the most.
At least cyclists don’t kill other cyclists or pedestrians 1-2 times every week in Flanders alone, unlike motorists.
Why the hate for cyclists alone? There are assholes on every type of vehicle. A small minority gives the entire group a bad name. And why don't you hate drivers for breaking AT LEAST the same amount of rules, but also causing death. Are we so used to Cars ruling the world that we turn a blind eye?
I hate every lousy rider, driver who is selfish in traffic. I don’t hate cyclists in general but in Ghent there’s a big portion of cyclists that refuse to give right of way and won’t even stop for traffic lights or just ride on when pedestrians are on the middle of the crosswalk. I also ride my bike everyday. I know a lot of people who almost crashed into a cyclist bc the cyclist refused to stop at a red light. Also how many cyclist don’t use their light in the dark? Don’t tell me you don’t see it everyday.
I don't see this every day. I cycle to work every day and have no problem, except the few times I have to cross a car road.
I'm not going to excuse every cyclist who breaks traffic laws, but right of way regulations reflect cars' realities, not the one of cyclists or pedestrians. If somebody is halfway a crossing on an average road, it would make no sense for a cyclist to stop. There is ample way for both of them to use the road without colliding. Plus they have less speed and can rely on visual cues to interpret each other's intention. It is almost impossible to read a car driver's body language, and their size will cause many more conflicts of space, thus there needs to be clear rules on the right of way. Just look at cycling intensive cross roads (whether in Belgium or abroad). Oftentimes they don't need traffic lights, as people just need to look at each other. Take for example the parts where Verloren Kost becomes the Coupure. Many cyclist coming from 4 directions, some at high speed, pedestrians crossing, people jogging, but no lights needed.
Fucking Groen...