After several days of discussion, the mayor of Anderlecht, Fabrice Cumps (PS), proposed to the elected representatives of the majority to come back to the implementation of the Good Move regional mobility plan in the Cureghem district. “I suggested to the college to come back to this test phase in Cureghem and start from scratch”he explained at the end of the day. “I think the mistake we made was that we wanted to embrace too large a perimeter, we aimed too broad. We must now discuss once more on the scale of the micro-district of Cureghem and be able to arrive at something something that builds consensus. We will keep the same overall perimeter but rediscuss it in a smaller sub-committee“, he declared on the airwaves of BX1.
The Alderwoman for Mobility Susanne Mueller-Huebsch (Groen) reacted quickly. According to her, it is not yet a question of talking regarding withdrawing from the Good Move plan but rather regarding adapting the plan, but also the method. “We have heard feedback from citizens. We have already proposed, last week, to remove the concrete blocks, to modify certain arrangements and to review the traffic plan on the basis of the concerns of the people living in the district, the shopkeepers and the associative sector, very present in Cureghem. We have also proposed a new general consultation district by district on the current plan“, specifies the ecologist.
For the opposition, a waste of time
However, it calls for not anticipating the decision of the whole college until the discussions are over. “I am surprised to see this exit from the mayor while we were still discussing.
There would be few doubts regarding the outcome of the talks. “Ecolo-Groen elected officials are currently looking for the right wording, we are on a question of words“, slips a city councilor.
In the opposition, we denounce the waste of time. “I hope that the college’s response will be unambiguous and that we can start from a blank page in order to restore a confidence that has been largely damaged during this sequence.“, comments Gaëtan Van Goidsenhoven (MR), municipal councilor.
This decision comes following many protests, sometimes violent, in this district of Anderlecht. As a reminder, the Brussels Region had designated four “test” neighborhoods for the implementation of the first phase of the “Good Move” plan. This mobility plan, discussed under the previous legislature but whose implementation really began in 2020, aims to redefine the direction of circulation in the districts by directing car traffic towards the so-called structuring axes. The objective wanted by the Region is to calm the neighborhoods by evacuating so-called transit traffic.
The alderwoman receives insults and threats
In Cureghem, this new traffic plan came into effect during the holidays. He had quickly come up once morest a veritable outcry. Infuriated residents had moved the concrete blocks supposed to redirect the cars. The protest had gone up a notch during the municipal college last Thursday. The climate had become so tense that the Alderman for Mobility had received informal police protection following threats.
Barely a few weeks following the establishment of this “peaceful mesh”, will the majority backtrack, at the risk of the movement spreading? Indeed, the future of the Good Move plan seems to be on hold in several other municipalities in the Brussels Region. Alderman for Mobility Abdellah Achaoui (PS) refuses to decide and to move too quickly. “Today, when I see the result of Good Move in certain municipalities, I wonder regarding these radical changes without taking into account the inhabitants and traders. I don’t want to cause them harm“, he recently declared to Free .
