Het verbreden van de ring rond Brussel en de mythe van de reistijdwinst

Subtitle:The myth of travel time savings and the redevelopment of the outer ring road around Brussels

In April 2021, the regional government of Flanders published its plans for the renovation of the R0, the outer ring road around Brussels. The advantages and disadvantages of various plan alternatives were weighed up against each other in a social cost-benefit analysis (SCBA) and in an environmental impact assessment report (EIA). Despite the distinct political nature of the planning process, both the SCBA and the EIA are technical studies that give the impression that this planning process is guided by scientific research that can objectively distinguish between better and worse planning alternatives. However, the applied methods of analysis do not take into account recent scientific insights into the phenomenon of ‘induced travel’, which means that the project will probably not provide any travel time savings in the long term, nor will it reduce congestion. As a result, the SCBA significantly overestimates the economic benefits of the project and the EIA underestimates the environmental effects. Road pricing could possibly support the achievement of the stated objectives, but is not included in any plan alternative under scrutiny.

Publication year:2022

Accessibility:Closed