2023-07-10 11:25:00
French speakers at school, Dutch speakers on vacation. And vice versa. For the first time, and despite the battery of criticism, Belgium experienced this year different school calendars on both sides of the linguistic border. With in Brussels, a city-region in which French-speaking and Dutch-speaking education networks coexist, a hybrid situation, where in the same street, establishments found themselves closed when others remained open. But from the point of view of automobile traffic, in other words, this staggering of holidays has had only a very limited impact.
Brussels Mobility recently carried out a study on the effects of these differentiated timetables. The number of vehicles in Brussels fell by only 5% during the Dutch-speaking holidays in April, and by 7% during the French-speaking holidays in May. Note: in the very busy tunnels of the hypercentre (Petite Ceinture), the “holiday effect” was almost non-existent.
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Along with the stagnant number of cars, congestion did not drop significantly during these periods. Compared to the two weeks before the holidays, the average journey time fell by only 1% during the Flemish holidays, and by 5% during the French-speaking holidays. The more marked impact during French-speaking holidays is explained, according to the Brussels administration, by the fact that a large majority of Brussels pupils attend French-language establishments.
A trend that is also observed in public transport but in a much more marked way. The Stib has indeed recorded a drop in attendance of around 9% during the first week of Dutch-speaking holidays, once morest a drop of 19% during the first week of French-speaking holidays.
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Less traffic between July 21 and August 15… but construction sites
The biggest drop in traffic jams in Brussels is – unsurprisingly – expected in the middle of the summer holidays. Between July 21 and August 15, 2023, the drop in travel time can go “up to -8% in the morning and -13% in the evening”, estimates Brussels Mobility.
Less congestion on average therefore… but occasional traffic jams depending on the routes. A reminder for commuters or occasional visitors to the capital: this summer, many construction sites are in full swing simultaneously in the capital, particularly in the tunnels. No less than five underground infrastructures are or will soon be under construction: Bailli and Vleurgat on Avenue Louise, Arts-Loi on the Petite Ceinture, Tervuren and Woluwe to the east of the capital. To which are added the night closures for the Trône, Madou, Reyers-Centre and Rogier tunnels.
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