The Mobility Plan

Why?

Ghent is a vivid, vibrant and growing city. A busy city like Ghent has plenty of advantages but also a number of challenges, because the pressure on the city keeps on growing. For that reason, the city council has made some decisions ensuring that both citizens and visitors will get more space.

What is it?

The new Mobility Plan is a positive reply to various questions and challenges. Less traffic pressure leads to safer squares and streets as well as a more attractive environment to live, work or study in. Ghent will stay viable and accessible thanks to the Mobility Plan.

The Circulation Plan and Parking Plan are two important parts of the Mobility Plan:

• Circulation Plan
  City services have been making a lot of countings and measurements the past few years. What’s the result? More than 4 out of 10 cars are driving straight through the city center while they don’t have to.
  
  The Circulation Plan prevents this transit traffic from entering the city center. This way, pedestrians, cyclists, buses and trams will get more space and drivers who really need to be in the city can easily reach their destination.
  
  A few important principles:

  • the restricted traffic area is going to be extended.
  • The city center is going to be divided in 6 sections surrounding the restricted traffic area.
  • Car traffic that does not need to be in the city center can go from section to section through the inner ring (R40).
  • Car traffic that needs to go from municipality to municipality, is being encouraged to take the main ring road (R4).
    

• Parking Plan
  There are too few parking spaces for all cars in Ghent. With the Parking Plan, the City of Ghent will deal efficiently and wisely with the available parking spaces. In general: “The further away from the center, the lower the tariffs”.
  
  On the edge of the city, there are park-and-rides (P+R). These parking spaces are for free in most cases. At the park-and-rides, you can easily switch to public transport or bicycles.
  
  ​A few important principles:

  • More areas will be reserved for resident parking. This way, residents will easily find a parking space close to their home.
  • Parking spaces on the street will be divided in four zones. Each zone has its own tariffs, which will get lower the further you are removed from the city center. This gives people who only want to park for a short time the chance to find a parking space faster.
    Pay attention: parking on resident parking spaces is prohibited when you are not a resident.
  • The underground parking spaces of the City of Ghent will be divided in two groups: cheaper parkings (Ramen, Savaanstraat, Sint-Pietersplein and Tolhuis) and more expensive parkings where short-term parking is being encouraged by making long-term parking more expensive (Sint-Michiels, Reep and Vrijdagmarkt). In addition, you can also park at Zuid, Kouter and Center Parking, which are not managed by the City of Ghent.