TERVUREN – Mayor Thomas Geyns ordered workers to remove the popular bike parking in front of the smaller Carrefour. The move creates two extra car parking spots on the busy Hoornzeelstraat. Convenience car parking is crucial for local business, the Flemish liberal mayor says. This really feels like a punch in the stomach, say cyclists.
“Short-term and convenient car parking for quick stops at local shops must remain available in Tervuren. This is vital for the local economy,” Geyns explained to local cyclists on Facebook. He added that local shopkeepers were consulted and did not request two separate bike parking areas so close together. “Nor were they fans of two car parking spaces permanently disappearing,” he said. Cyclists also spend less and are better able to walk than elderly car drivers, say local shopkeepers.
Local cyclists love the racks near Carrefour and Au Flan Breton bakery. They claim inconvenience in carrying shopping bags some 50 meters to the new covered bike parking. And the new facility, across from Il Carretino, lacks space for cargo bikes and long-tail bikes popular with environmentally conscious parents in Tervuren.
Local cycling group Fietsersbond Tervuren voiced concern on Facebook, insisting both bike parking areas were actively used. The group humorously posted a call for the missing racks: “All useful tips will be rewarded with our eternal gratitude.”
“The new bicycle parking facility is mainly used for the school,” says Gui Pleysier, chairman of Fietsersbond Tervuren, in Het Nieuwsblad. “As a result, not many spaces are left, and many cyclists are disadvantaged for the sake of a single car. This really feels like a punch in the stomach,” Pleysier adds.
Older residents recall a Fietsersbond Tervuren campaign back in 2011. Fietsersbond set up a mock bike parking spot to prove the need for more facilities. “We parked our bikes on the street where we believed a rack should be installed. The fact that this improvised parking was overflowing proved the demand,” said the late Fietsersbond Tervuren founder, Joris Vlaeyen.
Author: Dafydd ab Iago. © Article and photos are licensed © 2024 for https://facebook.com/tervurenplus under the Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.
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