[Music]
the atmosphere has just completely
changed over the last 10 years in a
sense that walking and cycling has
become very natural and very normal for
everyone it's important to show up in
evidence the car drive is the the
cyclist that we mean it in ganz we have
a good tradition of spatial planning you
need it for a whole city and you need it
for neighborhood it's there's more and
more people biking here and guns
especially since this circulation plan
in the city center became a lot calmer
much more space for bikers to go last
course the circulation plan was really
needed because there was a lot of
problem in the city with congestion but
also with livability to meet people to
have a nice time
that's for the city apart
[Music]
the circulation plan is very important
for Ghent very important for life purity
we have an area where there are seven
parts there is a power free zone in the
center and then six parts around it for
pedestrians for cyclists for public
transport nothing changed but for car
drivers something changed if they wanted
to go from one part to another part they
had to go to the ring road there was no
connection between the parts possible
with a car so you get fewer cars
we are here at the f50 as we called it
in the Kent which is the inner ring way
if you have to go from one section to
another section you have to pass via
this runway this means that you see a
lot more cars here since the circulation
plan has been introduced we can see that
there's absolutely a decrease in the
number of cars in the city an increase
in walking and cycling it goes up goes
hand-in-hand with the parking measures
that have been introduced so we have
more parking on the border of the city
and people just walking or cycling or
using public transport to enter the city
[Music]
the simulation plan was actually part of
the mobility plan that also included the
parking plan a plan to evolve a cycling
network in the city of Ganz and the
targets within the mobility plan were
set on 35% for cycling
two years after the circulation plan we
have a mode share of 35% which was
actually the target for 2030 so it seems
that we have to think about the toilets
we're standing at the computer which is
the busiest bike street and gunt and
before it was too narrow like you see
there's this narrow passage on the side
people were biking there it became
impossible to boss on both directions
so now bikers are driving on the streets
just beside there and they've got a
whole street for them and became a
bicycle street bylaw also which means
cars can't overtake bikers anymore so
they have the whole space of the street
just for them speed limit is 30
kilometers an hour here that way you see
that cyclists are taking it a little
and it's quite safe and you don't always
need a separate party plates if you want
to set up a cycling street you really
need a street with the low intensity of
course and actually the circulation plan
gave us a chance to increase the number
from 8 cycling streets in 2017 to 18 we
can go by bicycle to our working place
to school and so on
20 years of consequent politics that
direction to make it to sustainable and
a social settings
just let children walk and cycle alone
to school for example so working on
motor shift is really important and
making sure that this mind shift is
there that people just automatically
choose sustainable modes of transport
30% of the inhabitants of Kent don't all
a car anymore and raising their kids
would be ideal it's not necessary to
have a car and as an ambition to be the
biggest city of car sharing systems so
hopefully in the future
the new generation will be used to that
a leader you can use a car whenever it's
needed but you don't have to own it
[Music]
we have many rivers and in Ghent and in
the 60s they filled up with the rivers
to get parking space from cars one year
ago this was still a parking for cars
and we reopened the the river we this is
important that that we we give water a
place in the city if you get parking
spaces away it's always a battle for
people who are parking it's also it's
always very important they have their
space but what is amazing is that the
moment the parking spaces are away the
city is still living and everything is
still working this is a new piece of
infrastructure to get cyclists and
pedestrians on a safe manner to the city
center because it was very hard for for
people who are living at the eastern
side of the city to get in the center
and now with this underpass it's
possible to get in the center in a safe
manner
[Music]
a lot of cars means a lot of pollution
the City Council really wanted to try to
do something else and to be really
innovative for me Utrecht and ruling in
our example city's iconic cities for
pedestrians and cyclists but what they
have done is amazing well at one point
we got a call from the vice mayor of
fent
and he was interested in what we were
doing in Utrecht with the bicycle
program so my vice mayor she invited him
we showed him around and he liked what
you were doing very very much they have
such a high level of quality and that
was very hard for us to get at that same
level so what we did is not to get the
same things as a new track because it
should take 10 20 30 years also we took
a shortcut and with the circulation plan
we made space for pedestrians and
cyclists without the heart and expensive
infrastructure and this plan worked for
Abaddon's accepted it as well some
little adjustments were not important
general I think he did a real good job
Isaac
[Music]
so we here at one of the places where
they cut it a street in two before this
used to be a road where you could go in
both direction of the car now you can't
anymore where the bike you can't stop
passing there's also still space for the
buses and taxi drivers to go over this
bridge but normal cars can't go anymore
they use cameras here the camera reads
the license plate of the car and then
they get a fine afterwards if the dead
cross so they place these things here
the splendors is benches so people can
sit here but also to show that it is not
longer a road where cars can pass and
both directions to make a design like
here you have to stop and have to turn
around or go another way here this is
one of the most important cuts you made
you can't get from one area to another
but if they come with the car in the
city centre they get in and immediately
they get out very simple the cut is
signed by the red strips the traffic
signs the red blocks there and sometimes
there are how do you call it play
elements and this is better also for for
cyclists if they come here there are
almost no cars except services and taxis
[Music]
all that periods two and a half years
there was some much debate and a very
roughly bit I had some dead rats so this
was not not not easy for me the first
day when the circulation plan went live
there was national media coverage and
they all went to get to see Bullitt word
there was a lot of commotion in the city
about what would happen a lot of people
thought and would die nobody would come
to can't anymore all the shops would
have to close a lot of people even Dutch
people told me well the plan that you
are going to implement that's political
suicide one year before the elections
you can't do that they really went with
a very negative image it won't work guys
you see we gonna say it won't work but
the truth was it really went very smooth
the moment it started on April 2017
everything changed after that rough
period of two and a half years I came
outside with the journalists and took a
trip with a bike through Ghent and
everywhere people said congratulations
very good we are very pleased with it
after that massive national media really
need to change to admit that it is a
good plan and it's working I also got
the emails from for example parents that
said thanks for introducing circulation
plan it's actually the first time that
I'm really happy
with just my kids on the streets and I'm
not anxious anymore Orenda our bike if
there is political will to make really
good changes towards more walking and
cycling and really making the city more
pleasant and happy that also on
political level people get rewarded for
if you design a city for cars to get
cause if you design a city for people
you get people
[Music]
in earlier times this was a street full
of cars it was a very popular street for
car drivers and what we will do is to
expand the park
just to the front of the water be next
time you come to Ghent there will be no
suite anymore there will be a Barton and
water so and that's quality you get
public space for people water green