Twenty percent fewer cars in Brussels car parks

Since the introduction of the pedestrian zone in the centre of Brussels in June, the number of drivers using the Interparking car parks in the city centre has dropped by 20%. According to Interparking, many drivers are not aware that the garages are still accessible. The company has therefore started a campaign to inform drivers.

Interparking compared the number of cars parked in their city centre garages over the past two months with the same period last year and found a sharp decline. The car parks at the Inner Ring such as Toison d'or and Porte de Hal are doing slightly better, as are the car parks farther from the centre, including Woluwe Shopping, Interparking director Roland Cracco told Le Soir.

According to Interparking, drivers wrongly assume that they can no longer reach the city centre by car. But for Brussels mobility minister Els Ampe, it is not yet clear whether the decline is a good or a bad thing. "If there is less turnover in the shops, that's a negative development. However, if turnover remains the same, it could be a good thing," she told FM Brussel.