Ghent circulation plan off to flying start

Police commissioner Ann Buysse: "Everything is going calmly. There's nothing special to report."

Today sees the return to work and pupils and students are back to school, polytechnic or university. The regional traffic centre reported fewer problems than during an ordinary rush hour accompanied by rain. There were only a few delays in north eastern Ghent. In recent days several improvements regarding traffic lights and road marking have been introduced.

The new circulation plan was introduced on 3 April, the culmination of 2.5 years of work involving over a hundred people. In many Ghent streets the direction of the traffic has now changed. The objective of the plan is to make Ghent safer and more agreeable to live in. Also in the initial days of the plan few problems were reported.

Alderman Filip Watteeuw: "We're going to analyse all points and see where we need to intervene." Mr Watteeuw noted that despite Tuesday's wet start there were many people on their bikes and trams and buses were full. He believes it's important that the people of Ghent stick with these choices in order for circulation to continue to go smoothly.