Bruges Appoints an International Consortium for the FR30 Cycling Project

 
The Lord Mayor introduces the Bruges’ cycling policy.

The Lord Mayor introduces the Bruges’ cycling policy.

 
 

Together with the international landscape architecture firm West 8 and the traffic company Vectris, Copenhagenize Design Co. has been commissioned to work for the City of Bruges on a study into the construction of the FR30 bicycle ring road.

The project will allow Bruges to develop a new vision for its cycling network. This vision will focus on tackling weak areas within the existing system and on further raising the cycling modal share (already 43% in 2017). The project is supported by the EU Horizon 2020-funded Handshake collaboration.

The City Monitor, which compares Flemish cities across some 200 indicators, ranks Bruges as the number one cycling city in Flanders. “This does not mean that we can afford to slow down our efforts,” says the Lord Mayor De fauw. “On the contrary. The growing popularity of cycling also makes it clear that a number of weak points, especially near the city centre, remain to be addressed. Amsterdam and Copenhagen have clearly demonstrated that higher targets for the cycling modal shift can be achieved. New emerging trends, like fast e-bikes, challenge the current infrastructure. This is why Bruges is participating in Handshake, a collaborative project between European cycling cities that enables the exchange of successful practices in cycling.” 

The project team will work on a concept design for a bicycle ring road (FR30) to strengthen the cycling network. “Together with our partner Vectris, we will first study the city fabric and, in particular, the urban morphology. In doing so, we will analyse the need for a new supra-infrastructure and its possible location” states Maarten van de Voorde, director at West 8. “We want to preserve Bruges’ unique DNA and maximise the city’s soft values. We believe that cycling is more than a form of mobility -- that it is an integral part of a bustling and productive urban life. The expertise of local and regional experts is therefore of paramount importance. Thanks to our partner Copenhagenize Design Co., we will be able to actively involve these partners.”

“This ambitious project kicked off during our first meeting on August 23rd,” states Clotilde Imbert from Copenhagenize Design Co. “At this meeting, we discussed our first findings with a dozen local and regional experts and with our ‘Handshake-project Mentor,’ the City of Amsterdam. We did a cycling tour to witness Bruges’ vibrant cycling atmosphere as well as see the challenges the city is facing.”

Like the Lord Mayor said in his opening speech, quoting the medieval merchant family Gruuthuuse “plus est en vous.” There is more in you; you can always exceed yourself. The best is yet to come!