Report on 50 Years of Mobility Policy in Bruges
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MOBILITEIT REPORT ON 50 YEARS OF MOBILITY POLICY IN BRUGES 4 50 years of mobility policy in Bruges TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction by Burgomaster Dirk De fauw 7 Reading guide 8 Lexicon 9 Research design: preparing for the future, learning from the past 10 1. Once upon a time there was … Bruges 10 2. Once upon a time there was … the (im)mobile city 12 3. Once upon a time there was … a research question 13 1 A city-wide reflection on mobility planning 14 1.1 Early 1970s, to make a virtue of necessity (?) 14 1.2 The Structure Plan (1972), a milestone in both word and deed 16 1.3 Limits to the “transitional scheme” (?) (late 1980s) 18 1.4 Traffic Liveability Plan (1990) 19 1.5 Action plan ‘Hart van Brugge’ (1992) 20 1.6 Mobility planning (1996 – present) 21 1.7 Interim conclusion: a shift away from the car (?) 22 2 A thematic evaluation - the ABC of the Bruges mobility policy 26 5 2.1 Cars 27 2.2 Buses 29 2.3 Circulation 34 2.4 Heritage 37 2.5 Bicycles 38 2.6 Canals and bridges 43 2.7 Participation / Information 45 2.8 Organisation 54 2.9 Parking 57 2.10 Ring road(s) around Bruges 62 2.11 Spatial planning 68 2.12 Streets and squares 71 2.13 Tourism 75 2.14 Trains 77 2.15 Road safety 79 2.16 Legislation – speed 83 2.17 The Zand 86 3 A city-wide evaluation 88 3.1 On a human scale (objective) 81 3.2 On a city scale (starting point) 90 3.3 On a street scale (means) 91 3.4 Mobility policy as a means (not an objective) 93 3.5 Structure planning (as an instrument) 95 3.6 Synthesis: the concept of ‘city-friendly mobility’ 98 3.7 A procedural interlude: triggers for a transition 99 Archives and collections 106 Publications 106 Websites 108 Acknowledgements 108 6 50 years of mobility policy in Bruges DEAR READER, Books and articles about Bruges can fill entire libraries. Do we really need another publication about the history of this city? Hasn’t everything been said already? This publication, however, proves the opposite, as it provides new insights into the history of mobility and traffic management in Bruges. If I may give you a reader’s suggestion : start by strawling through this publication’s photos. In less than 50 years, the city withnessed a spectacular metamorphosis. From a car-oriented city to a people-friendly city . It is a story we are still writing today. Next year (2021), we will further expand our pedestrian area with the redesign of the Katelijnestraat and at the end of that year we will also implement a new bus plan. But a change in minds and streetlife happened also outside our historical city centre: 30 km/h zones were rolled out, dangerous traffic points were and are being tackled, new and safe cycle paths were and are being constructed ... But apart from these projects, our story is especialy a story of people. To me, this 7 publication is also a personal ‘trip down memory lane’. I remember with nostalgia how I stood on the barricades protesting for a liveable Sint-Michiels, including a – successful – fight against reconstructing the Koning Albert I-laan as a new expressway. How later, as alderman for public works, I was part of the story that made the Market Square a no- parking zone. And how nowadays, as Burgomaster and being responsible for mobility in our city, I face new challenges every day. Perhaps the publication’s biggest added value lies in the fact that it not only zooms in and out on the past, but that it also focuses on the present and the future. We probably don’t do this enough. The risk of only being focused on daily problems is real. A clear compass is therefore not an unnecessary luxury. And as you will see, many small steps eventually make a world – or should I say a city – of difference. With its rich tradition, also in terms of mobility planning, Bruges is proud of its past. Standing in the present, we confidentally look to the future. I would like to end with a word of gratitude and appreciation to the author Bart Slabbinck, who has been working for our city as a mobility expert since early 2018. Anyone who reads this publication will agree that we can be proud of such an expert and committed city employee. Dirk De fauw Burgomaster of the city of Bruges Reading guide DEAR READER, The publication has a twofold starting point. In the first place, I submitted this work as a thesis in the graduate programme ‘traffic engineering and mobility’ at the Vives University of Applied Sciences, where I could rely on the support of supervisors Mr Koen Vandenberghe and Mr Eddy Klynen. An action by the European Horizon 2020 Handshake project inspired this thesis. In this project, Bruges joins forces with other European cycling cities to exchange expertise on a successful cycling policy. While drawing up a State of Affairs (autumn 2018), I reflected on the roots of our policy on mobility and discovered that Bruges already had a great tradition regarding mobility planning. At the same time, it also became clear that this policy was barely documented compared to partner cities such as Copenhagen and Amsterdam. I therefore turned to Mr Jan Bonheure, founding father of the training programme and a native citizen of Bruges. He immediately agreed with the idea of making a reconstruction of Bruges’ mobility policy (i.e. in a broader sense than just the cycling policy). In this publication, I travel trhough time, starting half a century ago. This was not choosen randomly. The Structuurplan was presented in 1972. It offered a new look on the city and its traffic management. Following the Structuurplan Bruges abandonded a car- oriented traffic policy. Hence, the Structuurplan proved to be the perfect starting point for the research presented in this publication: 8 - I will start by presenting the research design; - in chapter 1, I will make a reconstruction (based on main points) of the Bruges mobility planning; - in chapter 2, I will do the same for the various mobility topics, including the cycling policy; - a project-based evaluation will follow in chapter 3. Here I will reflect on the concept of ‘city-friendly mobility’ which was the main conclusion in the State of Affairs to characterise the Bruges policy. I will also make a process-based evaluation and I will examine the triggers that initiated a new way of thinking about mobility in 1972 and later on. Lastly, some reading advice. This work contains a lot of quotes. These may often seem anecdotal, but they were chosen carefully to illustrate the spirit of the time. A reformulation would in most cases mean a loss of this particular Zeitgeist. Again, I wanted to avoid that I (or you as the reader) fell into the trap of considering mobility or traffic as only a technical discipline. That would be incorrect. As Weber (2010) states in the publication ‘De blijde intrede van de automobiel in België’ (English title: The advent of the automobile in Belgium), the story of traffic (and thus of mobility planning) is a social history. A story of people : how they experienced traffic and how it changed their (and our) lives and social organisation in general. Finally, I would like to thank everyone (within the training programme, within the European Handshake project, within the city council, within the context of this work) for an inspiring collaboration. I wish you an inspiring journey through the past, present and future of Bruges. Plus est en vous, Bart Slabbinck 50 years of mobility policy in Bruges LEXICON • Golden Triangle: the tourism district of Bruges (Beguinage/Minnewater - Market square - Zand square) • Bruges egg: the egg-shaped historical city centre of Bruges • Reien: the (historical) canals of Bruges, giving the centre its charme, also being called the Venice of the North • Vesten: Bruges’ green and historical city ramparts • STOP principle: mobility principle with focus first on walking (Stappers), then cycling (Trappers), then public transport (Openbaar vervoer) and finally on private cars (Personenwagens) • POST principle: mobility principle with focus first on cars (Personenwagens), then public transport (Openbaar vervoer), then pedestrians (Stappers) and finally on cyclists (Trappers) • Basic Accessibility Decree – Decreet Basisbereikbaarheid : a decree on mobility planning in Flanders, recently approved in 2019, introducing amongst others a new vision on public transport and introducting regional mobility planning ABBREVIATIONS: • AWV: Agentschap Wegen en Verkeer English: Roads and Traffic Agency (Flemish government) • BEV: Beperkt Eenrichtingsverkeer English: limited one-way traffic (with contra-flow cycling) 9 • BIVV: Belgisch Instituut voor Verkeersveiligheid English: BIRS: Belgian Institute for Road Safety • BPA: Bijzonder Plannen van Aanleg English: Special Plans of Development (a tool of urban planning) • MOW: Departement Mobiliteit en Openbare Werken English: Flemish Department of Mobility and Public Works • NMVB: Nationale Maatschappij Van Buurtspoorwegen English: National Vicinal Tramway Company (nowadays De Lijn) • NMBS: Nationale Maatschappij der Belgische Spoorwegen English: National Railway Company of Belgium • OVG: Onderzoek VerplaatsingsGedrag English: Transportation Behaviour Research RESEARCH DESIGN: PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE, LEARNING FROM THE PAST 1. Once upon a time there was … Bruges Risen from water and bricks, guilds, craftsmen, merchants, nobles as well the people of Bruges made their city one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. The port and canals defined the city. The rhythm of life was a reflection of the waves in the water. 10 Caestecker & Keppler, 1983, Brugge: straten en pleinen One cannot write about the history of Bruges without telling a history of mobility.