Avenue du Parc / Barrière de Saint-Gilles
As part of the Avenue du Roi Urban Renewal Contract, Brussels Mobility is piloting the Avenue du Parc redevelopment project in partnership with the municipalities of Saint-Gilles and Forest, the STIB, Brussels Environment and Vivaqua.
The project covers the whole of the Avenue du Parc between the Place Rochefort, bordering the Parc de Forest, the municipality's green lung, and the Barrière de Saint-Gilles, an urban traffic junction.
The Barrière de Saint-Gilles has been experiencing a number of traffic and road safety problems for several years. Situated with the Avenue du Parc at the centre of the same traffic calming grid according to the Regional Mobility Plan, it seemed logical not to separate the Barrière from the Avenue in order to give the project an overall coherence.
A high-quality public space
The main aims of the project are toimprove the quality of the public space, incorporate efficient rainwater management systems and improve road safety for all users.
Avenue du Parc will be restructured to accommodate two new lines oftrees alongside the pavements. These will reinforce the character of the landscaped axis and the link with Forest Park, while at the same time structuring the rain gardens that will be created to buffer rainwater.
Cyclists will be protected on separate cycle paths on the most dangerous stretches (uphill between Rochefort and avenue Clémentine, in the bottleneck approaching la Barrière, downhill approaching Rochefort) and will share the carriageway with cars on the rest of the avenue, which will become a cycle zone, where bicycles have priority and cars are not allowed to overtake them.
Public transport stops will be restructured to ensure maximum accessibility for all.
The ‘residual zones’ that currently occur at the crossroads with the various streets perpendicular to Avenue du Parc will be developed in order to activate them and turn them into pleasant relaxation areas.
The Avenue du Parc ‘bottleneck’ will be changed to a one-way street heading in the direction of La Barrière towards Rue de la Perche (towards Rochefort). This, together with the relocation of the existing bus stops, will allow wider pavements and the cycle path to be laid out.
The Barrière will be completely restructured: no more rails and switches running all around it, they will now cross it in the centre. This will lead to the relocation of the statue of the Water Bearer to its original location. The pavements will be widened and the width of the road reduced so as not to allow two cars to drive abreast, one of the main causes of accidents. The planned improvements will reinforce the roundabout character of the Barrière and clarify the associated priority system.
