Pedestrians canvassed on safety of walking routes in Brussels

Pedestrians in Brussels were invited this weekend to give their opinions on how areas of the capital could be improved for walkers as part of a survey conducted by the Walk.Brussels movement.

Volunteers for the pro-pedestrian organisation stopped people in areas of the city as part of the 'Join the Walk' campaign, asking them where walking was comfortable and places which were still unsafe for those on foot.

The public were encouraged to be honest about how they viewed the state of pedestrian safety in the city and to provide suggestions, if they had any, about how and where improvements could be made.

The Walk.Brussels movement, which will officially launch as a pressure group committed to raising these issues in local government in the spring of 2021, chose this time to canvas pedestrians as more and more people have been taking to the streets of Brussels by foot in a bid to avoid public transport during the coronavirus pandemic.

“This is the starting point to create the pedestrian movement and bring all relevant actors together,” said Emilie Herssens, coordinator of Walk.Brussels. “This is the momentum we need to gather all the feedback we can and draw up a pedestrian policy.”

Pedestrians were also given a leaflet by the volunteers which contained several road maps of the Brussels Capital region. "Every map shows a walking route,” added Emilie Herssens. “This way, Brussels residents can discover how to get from one place to another on foot, with shortcuts, and alleyways included.”