The Brussels Region should soon have parking spaces dedicated to cargo bikes, of which more and more are circulating in the Belgian capital. According to figures from the Belgian Bike Observatory, they represented 6% of bicycles in circulation in 2020, compared to just 2% in 2018.
The Brussels government wants to encourage the use of cargo bikes, but for that you need a minimum of suitable constructions, starting with car parks that can accommodate these bulky machines.
Indeed, today it is very difficult to park with these machines in the city, especially near public places such as schools, administrations or department stores. It should be noted that one of the few underground car parks in Brussels, in the city center, that can accommodate cargo bikes even has a lift adapted accordingly. This means that the restrictions are important for this type of transport.
Sheltered and secured parking spaces for cargo bicycles could soon be realized. The idea would even be to raise the standard to one cargo bike space for every 10 bicycle spaces in multi-unit buildings. However, this is still in the design phase and will one day need to be voted on to be implemented.
Parking spaces alone are not necessarily sufficient to convince people to buy a cargo bike, other infrastructures will also have to adapt. For its part, the Research and Action Group of Daily Cyclists (GRACQ), which represents and defends the interests of cyclists in French-speaking Belgium, is campaigning for adapted cycle paths, due to their width or even turning circle, in Brussels and its surroundings.
ETX Daily Up