The Car Free Sunday in Brussels was a pleasant relaxation for many cyclists, walkers, skaters and other soft mobility users in times of corona. The streets were pleasantly crowded and no significant incidents were noted. The number of medical interventions was lower than in last year’s edition.
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“It has already become a beautiful and incident-free Car Free Sunday,” reports Brussels Mobility Minister Elke Van den Brandt. She spent her Sunday by bicycle in various places in the Brussels region and saw that it was good. ‘The people of Brussels clearly enjoyed the peace and quiet, the beautiful weather and the clean air. It also makes you dream of a real city on a human scale, ‘says Van den Brandt.
The turnout was good and similar to that of previous years, although the police and the STIB estimate that fewer people from outside Brussels moved to the car-free region. But that was compensated by the people of Brussels.
As every year, some injured people fell by bicycle, on foot, with a scooter or on the roller skates. The focus of the interventions was mainly in the course of the afternoon. Between 9:30 am and 7:00 pm, the fire brigade performed 212 medical interventions and 55 injured on public roads, including traffic accidents. That is a decrease compared to last year’s figures. In 2019, 246 medical interventions were performed and 89 people were injured. In comparison, on a normal Sunday, the total number of medical interventions is around 160.
Earlier in the day, King Philippe, Queen Mathilde and their children, Princes Gabriel and Emmanuel and Princess Eléonore, took a bicycle tour of the capital. They also visited the House of European History. Princess Elizabeth was not there, because she is studying at the Royal Military Academy.
Foto: Photo News
In total, 22 cities organized a corona-safe version of Car Free Sunday. That is a significant decrease compared to last year, when there were 49 participating cities. Ghent is postponing the Car Free Sunday until October 18, Leuven until September 27, and Hasselt already held the day on September 13. Today it was the turn of the following cities and towns:
- Antwerp
- Mechelen
- Oostende
- Roeselare
- Sint-Niklaas
- Axis
- By Pinte
- Diest
- Haacht
- Ieper
- Kortrijk
- Ninove
- Veurne
- Vilvoorde
- Hoeilaart
- Hove
- Ichtegem
- Oudenaarde
- Brussels
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