The Movement Challenge

There are reasons why the bigger, more fundamental questions (see previous section) about this country’s mobility challenge need answering. That is because there are a number of underlying, more concrete challenges vying for attention. Problems like traffic congestion, harmful emissions, the cost-effectiveness of public transport—these are all issues that today seem rather intractable and hence create (or demand) a sense of urgency.

Road Congestion

As mobile Belgians we know what it is. Many of us experience it on a daily basis, and where possible we adapt accordingly. Some early birds zip through just before the peak, to arrive at work at the ungodly hour of 7 a.m. Others remain at work late, avoiding the ever-extending 3 - 7pm peak. We experience it in the major arteries—the ring of Antwerp and Brussels, the E-highways connecting Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent—but also in the suburbs, where long queues build up as people try to join a major road. We all have our opinions on the matter, but what are the facts, what do we know about the congestion problem?