The cockpit of Ghent will receive 447 bicycle parking spaces. Of these, 62 are reserved for non-standard bicycles such as cargo bicycles or crate bicycles. More space and infrastructure for cyclists is needed to accommodate the rapidly increasing number of cyclists. 

Ghent has more cyclists every year. The registrations of the bicycle parking poles in Ghent confirm this trend: the number of bicycle passages at the Coupure and Visserij has risen spectacularly in the past seven years. Since the introduction of the circulation plan, even 20% more cyclists are counted on the bicycle counters. So the infrastructure cannot be left behind.

“If we want more people on bicycles, we have to provide space for cyclists. Not only on the street, but also to store them. ”, Says Filip Watteeuw - ships of Mobility Ghent.

However, many residential streets suffer from a shortage of bicycle sheds to accommodate this growth. Especially in neighborhoods with a high population density and closed buildings, residents place their bicycles against the facade or on the footpath. Not ideal for residents, but also not for wheelchair users or parents with a pram, who have difficulty passing. In addition, bicycles that are not attached to a garage are easy prey for bicycle thieves and belong in bicycle parking places.

Never further than 100 meters for a bicycle shed

In the city center and within the 19th-century belt, there must be a bicycle shed 100 meters walking distance from each front door. That is the aim of the mobility policy of the City gent. To achieve this goal, additional parking facilities and bicycle parking spaces have been in place since March 2015 placed. Area-oriented research determines where parking facilities are needed. The needs are mapped out neighborhood by neighborhood and supplemented with suggestions from residents.

Balance

Nine districts have now been fully mapped. After the Brugse Poort, Rooigem-Malem, Ledeberg, Oud Gentbrugge, Stationsbuurt-Noord and Sluizeken-Tolhuis-Ham and Macharius-Heirnis and earlier this year the districts Elisabethbegijnhof and Papegaai is now the turn of the historic center. When placing the additional parking facilities and bicycle parking spaces the city council strives to safeguard car parking places where possible. The City seeks a balance that is good for all residents, both for car owners and bicycle owners.

Also read: New signposting for pedestrians in Ghent's city center