Rebuild Downtown Our Town (R.Dot) is the voice of Lower Manhattan.
The R.Dot coalition is comprised of Lower Manhattan residents, businesses, community and business associations, artists, colleges, professionals, architects, and designers together with public officials and appointees. The coalition meets regularly to discuss, research, and develop a collective vision that can shape our new downtown. Member groups of R.Dot represent the voices of thousands of people who have been directly affected by the destruction of the World Trade Center Towers.
R.Dot's vision is to help create in Lower Manhattan a 21st century living, working, and sustainable environment that symbolizes the American spirit and its humanistic values; honors our dead; reflects our modern cultural, technological, economic and social thought, our global financial and economic leadership, and a multicultural society.
The coalition's objective is to support an imaginative, sustainable design that creates the possibility of a diverse, inclusive, 24-hour residential and business community. The built design should attract and serve people who provide the intellectual, entrepreneurial, creative and technological capabilities that empower New York City's economy and the richness of its multicultural life. R.Dot strongly supports the design of an appropriate memorial to all those who lost their lives and those whose lives have been irrevocably changed by the tragedy on September 11.
R.Dot's mission is to represent the active voice concerned with Lower Manhattan in the redevelopment of the World Trade Center area; to promote its spiritual revitalization and economic recovery; and to assure that our collective vision reaches the media, the public, and the decision-makers whom have the power to create the new reality.
R.Dot is led by architect Beverly Willis, FAIA, Director, Architecture Research Institute, Inc. and Susan Szenasy, Metropolis Magazine Editor-in-Chief.
Written by
Brent Oppenheimer, Beverly Willis, FAIA
Edited by Susan Szenasy, Editor-in Chief, Metropolis Magazine
Design, Illustrations and Mapping by
Roland Gebhardt, Roland Gebhardt Design
Data
Architecture Research Institute, Roland Gebhardt
Translations of European managed streets, rules and regulations :
Rick Bell (French), Susanne Kastler (German)
Infrastructure Committee :
Brent Oppenheimer, OH&CO; Roland Gebhardt, Roland Gebhardt Design; Ron Heyduk, BMCC; Ron Schiffman, Director, Pratt Institute Center for Community and Environmental Development (PICCED); Nancy Owens, landscape architect; David Hubert, Community Board #1 member; Steve Weber, Regional Plan Association; Liz Thompson, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council; Laura Starr, The Saratoga Associates; Kari Anderson, architect; Glenn Fulk, architect; Lisa Schreibman, Tri-State Transportation Campaign; Alexander Gorlin, architect; Mary Dierickx, architectural preservation consultant, Beverly Willis, FAIA.
R.Dot Steering Committee :
Beverly Willis, FAIA and Susan Szenasy, Co-Chairs; Marc James Ameruso; Carole Artigiani; James Biber; Albert Capsouto; Professor Jean Gardner; Roland Gebhardt; David Hupert; Theodore Liebman, FAIA; Gerard Major; Ellen O'Neill; Brent Oppenheimer; Rafael Pelli; Ron Shiffman, FAICP; Linda Silverman; Liz Thompson; Paul J. Vincenti, Esq.
Pace University hosts R.Dot meetings and provides technical support.
"Walking is New York - a defining characteristic that has kept us a step ahead of other cities. Today, a century after the first subway trains rattled into Grand Central Station and the first automobiles puttered down Fifth Avenue, two thirds of the journeys around downtown and midtown Manhattan are still made on foot." (Get Outta the Way - We're dancing Here, Tony Hiss, New York Times, January 1998).
This paper offers a programmatic approach for planning a sustainable surface transportation infrastructure for Lower Manhattan and the World Trade Center site. We believe that street development will play a crucial role in the renewal of downtown. We hereby set forth some specific ideas and insights as a basis for design and development.
Since 1922, nine master plans have called for solutions to Lower Manhattan street congestion. The 1966 master plan called for managed streets to both reduce automobile and pedestrian congestion and make the area more easily accessible. The time has come for implementation.
A greater accommodation of pedestrians, while recognizing that vehicle access is crucial, will help achieve many positive outcomes in Lower Manhattan. Streets that are less congested are safer and more conducive to high value retailing, hospitality, cultural and business venues. Streets that offer pedestrians pleasant environments have great potential to reinvigorate this damaged area of Manhattan. For this reason street development must feature prominently in the plans for mobility and economic development of the area.
Existing public transit systems have enabled Lower Manhattan to remain one of the most accessible business districts in the US (more than 80% of all trips to the area are made via public transit). The challenge is to distribute this pedestrian flow efficiently and pleasantly.
A street management plan would establish a street classification system that recognizes differences in each street and that helps govern the levels of management and investment required for each. Each classification should accommodate users needs on that street, e.g. residents, retail, offices and visitors, as well as consider the street location, width, and volume of pedestrian and automobile traffic. A value pricing system should be considered for selected streets to reduce peak traffic on congested high traffic volume thoroughfares. Pick-up and delivery locations should be established within buildings with truck loading and unloading off the street and alternative transportation vehicles used to distribute mail and packages on a 24-hour basis. Parking structures along the edges of the ring road need to be designed into the landscape and as part of open spaces. Alternate forms of transportation should provide connections from the parking areas to downtown locations. Rules and regulations should be developed (see the Ghent example in the appendix) for each classification of streets.
Any revision of the mass transit system and the development of the WTC site will have implications for the overall pattern of mobility in Lower Manhattan, especially the way the streets must work. In Paris downtown mixed-use area, La Defense, all automobile traffic is underground. Pedestrian street-like passageways connect buildings and open spaces on the surface level. Streets on the surface level of WTC, while following the pattern of the original streets, should be managed streets, closed to continuous flows of traffic.
Security purposes require some closed mobility systems to protect key structures such as the stock exchanges and places of historic significance.
To help insure sustainability, the planning process should include all involved agencies as well as all community groups. Reference should be made to successes (as well as mistakes) of cities like London, Geneva, Stuttgart, Ghent, Berlin, and Venice. These cities have historic centers where transit systems have been modernized in the last 5-10 years. These cites have adopted managed street rules and regulations that recognize and permit residential automobile access, emergency vehicles, taxi services, handicap access, etc. They allow business and retail deliveries and pick-ups and city services such as maintenance and garbage pick-up. An example of these rules and regulations is an addendum to this paper.
Streets define the character of a city. In Lower Manhattan the size, congestion, access, and connectivity of the streets dictate the urban environment. Streets are critical to a sustainable city. They set the stage for social interactions: shopping, dwelling, eating, traveling, looking, and pausing for a chat-lively public activities that encourage healthy economic conditions which have a profound effect on the wellbeing of a city. (Illustration A)
As planning efforts for the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan gather momentum, careful attention must be paid to managing the system of streets below Canal Street and at the World Trade Center site. We have a real opportunity to revise the way we use many of these streets and to treat them as valuable assets inextricably tied to the buildings and neighborhoods they connect.
The very nature of the cityscape in Lower Manhattan, its historic passageways and buildings, commercial and economic makeup, and its unique geographic disposition, challenges us to think boldly and to act creatively in rethinking streets and the mobility system. We must find a way to balance vision and pragmatism by developing rules and regulations that both serve and distinguish this congested part of the city. Street management must enhance the wellbeing of all the communities in Lower Manhattan. The area has the potential to become a showcase to the world - not just of New York's famous can-do spirit, but also a center of 21st century urban development.
We propose an approach for planning a sustainable surface transportation infrastructure for Lower Manhattan. We believe that street development will play a crucial role in the renewal of downtown. We hereby set forth some programmatic ideas and insights that might be considered for the future.
The existing context described below and the anticipated future growth of Lower Manhattan will shape the kind of surface transit transportation infrastructure required. Streets In the historical district of Lower Manhattan were built for horses and carriages, not automobiles. They are inadequate for the present pedestrian-automobile traffic.
Lower Manhattan is one of the most densely concentrated business districts in the world, but its transportation has not been substantially upgraded for nearly six decades.
Existing public transit systems have enabled Lower Manhattan to remain one of the most accessible business districts in the US (more than 80% of all trips to the area are made via public transit).
The historic street network and smaller scale buildings in much of Lower Manhattan makes the area ideal for pedestrians and less suitable for vehicles.
Prior to 9/11 the residential population of Lower Manhattan was growing rapidly (to almost 30,000 residents below Canal Street according to the 2000 U.S. Census). Combined with a citywide demand for housing, this trend towards residential and mixed use is likely to continue, creating 24 hour street usage.
Transit systems in Lower Manhattan influence the size, reach, and quality of the district's employment base. Growth in this dense environment will be determined by the way it is connected to surrounding areas and by the quality of mobility it offers commuters.
Access to Lower Manhattan is characterized by connections that run up/downtown (north and south). However, east-west access below Canal, between the East and Hudson rivers, is inadequate and heavily congested.
Historic Lower Manhattan hosts much of America's early heritage, including landmark buildings and cultural sites. It also offers access to the historical Ellis, Governors, and Liberty islands. The WTC site attracts visitors. Consequently, it is a major tourist destination.
Vehicle access to the southern part of Manhattan is constrained by the islandÍs narrow tip; but its island location makes it ideal for water ferry transit.
A concentration of commercial activities in Lower Manhattan means that the area is subject to dramatic peak traffic changes in automobile circulation during weekdays as well as on weekends.
The existing, winding, narrow street system in Lower Manhattan must be taken into account in order to address the transportation difficulties of the area. Any revision of the Lower Manhattan street system must relate to all modes of mobility, a wide range of users, and population growth.
Manhattan has its ring road system - the FDR Drive and West Street - that offer automobile access to downtown, the other boroughs, and outlying districts. This crucial function on the periphery has a penetrating effect on the pattern of movement and the environmental situation well within the city itself. In the case of Lower Manhattan, West Street, the FDR Drive, the bridges and tunnels that act as master connectors and feeders also regulate patterns of automobile movement below Houston Street. Arterial routes such as Houston, Canal, Chambers, and Broadway provide the next level of access and flow that feed secondary streets. Limited parking can be provided at off exits from the ring road. From the locations indicated by the red dots, all of lower Manhattan is within a ten minute walk. (Illustrations B and C)
Any new surface street mobility strategy--both in design and for investment--must take into account the access to Lower Manhattan provided by master roadways, bridges, and tunnels. The goal of such a strategy must be a world class surface street plan connected to regional transportation, automobile thoroughfares, and parking.
To help insure sustainability, the planning process should include all involved agencies as well as all community groups. Reference should be made to successes (as well as mistakes) of cities like London, Geneva, Stuttgart, Ghent, Berlin, and Venice. These cities have historic centers where transit systems have been modernized in the last 5-10 years. These cite shave adopted managed street rules and regulations that recognize and permit residential automobile access, emergency vehicles, taxi services, handicap access, etc. They allow business and retail deliveries and pick-ups and city services such as maintenance and garbage pick-up. An example of these rules and regulations is an addendum to this paper.
Municipalities have introduced street management programs to enhance the quality of urban life. Many have recognized that expediting the flow of traffic is only part of the problem. Parking on the streets which also encourages double parking - does not expedite the flow of traffic. Innovative solutions to parking have been developed by several European municipalities, including subterranean storage facilities such as the one in Cesena, Italy which make cars "disappear" once they are parked by the owner. (Illustration D) New York city must design new approaches to parking.
Other elements of a mobility strategy for Lower Manhattan are:
An integrated alternative transportation model that is extrapolated into
the future for access and transit in Lower Manhattan using all modes of
mobility to connect parking with visitor destinations.
Network for private and commercial vehicle access and parking.
Underground West Street highway between the Battery Park area and WTC - downtown area.
Security purposes requires some closed mobility systems for as they relate to key structures such as the stock exchanges and places of historic significance.
Information systems to help direct circulation and navigation.
Enhancement of the pedestrian experience, including access to outdoor
spaces and civic amenities, connecting parks and other outdoor spaces.
Day and nighttime street safety.
Security and redundancy infrastructure.
Preservation of historic locations and streets.
Alternative mobility systems such as ferry, cycle, trolley, pedicab, etc. (see illustration E)
Improve east-west access; consider a street trolley system that bisects Lower Manhattan and connects South Street Seaport and the Hudson River (see illustration F)
Develop and integrate ferry services into the mass transit and alternative mobility systems.
Build Second Avenue. subway to accomodate communities that are critically underserved. (see illustration C.1)
Since 1922, nine master plans have called for solutions to Lower Manhattan street congestion. The 1966 master plan called for managed streets to both reduce congestion and make the area more easily accessible. The time has come for implementation.
A greater accommodation of pedestrians, while recognizing that vehicle access is crucial, will help achieve many positive outcomes in Lower Manhattan. Streets that are less congested are safer, more conducive to high value retailing, hospitality, cultural and business venues. Streets that offer pedestrians pleasant environments have great potential to reinvigorate this damaged area of Manhattan. For this reason street development as well as a rethinking of parking facilities must feature prominently in the plans for mobility and economic development of the area.
We believe that a system of managed streets should be central to an integrated mobility strategy. As the volume of pedestrian traffic grows and pedestrian corridors are established in the area, a viable approach for vehicle access must be formulated. This is most likely to come in the form of a flexible street management approach that can help balance the seemingly opposed needs of pedestrians with road vehicles.
Successful street management recognizes the value of street systems that serve businesses, retail stores, and residents; calms traffic and promotes the free movement of pedestrians and light transport.
Any revision of the mass transit system and the development of the WTC site will have implications for the overall pattern of mobility in Lower Manhattan, especially the way the streets must work. In ParisÍ downtown mixed-use area, La Defense, all automobile traffic is underground. Pedestrian street-like passageways connect buildings and open spaces on the surface level. Streets on the surface level of WTC, while following the pattern of the original streets should be managed streets, closed to continuous flows of traffic.
Street management systems advocate flexible uses of streets, in accordance with the fluctuations of all types of traffic that occur during different times of the day. Street management recognizes the innate differences of one street from another and regulates their use accordingly.
This can take the form of a system of access and parking permits that assign street usage on a time and function basis so that all human and business needs are served.
Parked vehicles on streets add to the problem of congested traffic. Building of additional parking garages will encourage more drivers to come to the area. Planning locations of parking outside of dense urban settings and near transit nodes (such as ferry/bus/subway stations) can provide access to the center and help remove vehicles from overly congested streets. Preemptive and dynamic informational and navigational signage can help redirect vehicles from congested or restricted zones and reduce circulation.
When streets and buildings are looked at as a set of integrated components, street enhancements are considered in conjunction with the design of buildings and complexes to which they provide access. The practice of experience mapping proposed in the R.Dot white paper (issued February 2002) should be employed to develop a rich understanding of the kind of street life that can be created in each zone in relation to its buildings and open spaces.
A street management plan would establish a street classification system that recognizes differences in each street and that helps govern the levels of management and investment required for each. Each classification should accommodate users needs on that street, e.g. residents, retail, offices and visitors, as well as consider the street location, width, and volume of pedestrian and automobile traffic. A value pricing system should be considered for selected streets to reduce peak traffic on congested high traffic volume thoroughfares. Pick-up and delivery locations should be established within buildings with truck loading and unloading off the street and alternative transportation vehicles used to distribute mail and packages on a 24-hour basis. Parking structures along the edges of the ring road need to be designed into landscaped open spaces. Alternate forms of transportation should provide connections from the parking areas to downtown locations. Rules and regulations should be developed (see the Ghent example in the appendix) for each classification of streets.
Some other procedures that have been successfully used in managing streets in other cities are:
Restriction of through-traffic in certain zones. For an example, see illustration G.
Reservation of space and passage for pedestrians and cyclists, such as pedestrian corridors
lEstablishment of limited parking garages, built into the landscape at exits of the main roadway system around Lower Manhattan
Connection of parking facilities with other transit modes to reduce overall vehicle circulation
Creation of new parking solutions, such as the subterranean systems used in parts of Europe
Use of free small buses, like San Francisco street cars on wheels, to take people from parking lots and ferry
terminals to designated stops
Design of streets for a safe and enjoyable pedestrian experience during all hours by including lowered sidewalks, street furniture, public restrooms, lighting, outdoor dining and kiosks, art displays and public performance spaces, landmarks that facilitate navigation and retail facilities
Revision of street signage, including variable message displays that help to direct automobiles away from congested areas and towards available parking facilities
Permit access to restricted streets on a time managed basis
Priority system or special permits for residents and certain resident services - restrictions for heavy and large deliveries, loading and unloading - permits for all day deliveries and pick-up by pedicabs, bicycles
Introduction of a flexible street barrier system that can be activated periodically to quickly restrict or allow vehicle access during each day
The new surface transportation infrastructure developed for Lower Manhattan must be based on a master plan for the area and World Trade Center site that includes specific strategies for mobility, addressing all current modes of transportation in an integrated fashion. Lessons from major urban centers around the world should be incorporated - particularly those that address historic and environmental preservation. This mobility strategy must be future oriented and must include specific objectives for ease of access for all communities, the enhancement of livability (including complete access for the disabled), promote historical and modern heritage as well as economic growth.
To insure that development decisions address fundamental transportation problems, conditions in out-lying areas also must be addressed as part of a solution for the center of Lower Manhattan itself. Planning must include all stakeholders and interest groups to insure that a complete and sustainable program for transportation infrastructure is achieved.
We believe that the way streets in Lower Manhattan will be managed in the future will have a significant impact on the health of the area. For this reason, streets themselves must be treated as critical to urban design, not as secondary or subordinate to the design of buildings. The adoption of street management practices along with a comprehensive parking system that restricts vehicles from the center of Lower Manhattan will offer a substantial improvement to current conditions.
By approving the mobility scheme for the city centre on 19 December 1996, the City Council of Ghent laid the foundations for a long-term traffic policy aimed at making Ghent both accessible and pleasant to live in, a city ready to embrace the 21st century.
Part of the city centre was pedestrianised - an area of some 35 hectares/86 acres and as such the largest car-less centre in Belgium - and in other parts traffic-calming measures were introduced with the creation of a 30 km/h zone.
Whereas previously pedestrians felt under constant threat of being knocked down, cyclists took their lives into their own hands, public transport moved at a snail's pace through congested streets and drivers drove round and round looking for a parking space, the centre has now become a place where all light forms of transport are able to move freely.
Free street maps are available from the city's Mobility Department (Dienst Mobiliteit, see above)
Permits to enter the pedestrianised area by car/truck.
Key principles of the Mobility Scheme:
No through-traffic in the city centre
A parking route encompassing the city centre
Easy car-parking nearby
Space for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport
Permits
On 19.12.96 Ghent City Council approved the City Centre Mobility Scheme. The aim of the scheme is to reduce traffic congestion and make the city centre more easily accessible and more pleasant to live in.
An extensive pedestrianised area was therefore created within which the vulnerable road-users and public transport have absolute priority and motorised transport is consciously restricted to a minimum. By, for instance, imposing loading and unloading restrictions between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., traffic in the heart of the city is kept to a minimum during most of the day and the pedestrians and cyclists wanting to visit the many commercial, cultural and social facilities in the city centre have the space freely to enjoy all the city has to offer.
Why permits?
We realise that traders and the hotel and catering industry must be able to operate on all cylinders and we are fully aware of the needs of the local residents within the pedestrianised area. We have, therefore, developed permits especially for these groups, which will allow them to enter the pedestrianised area with a motor vehicle during the daytime between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. for the purpose of loading and unloading.
What does the permit entitle you to do?
Your permit allows you to be stationary for the permitted time period - which is calculated proportionally to necessity - for loading and unloading purposes or to carry out work for which you need a car close at hand.
What does the permit not entitle you to do?
Parking in the pedestrianised area is not permitted and your permit does not allow you to park. Neither does your permit entitle you to drive through the traffic-free area as a shortcut from a location on one side of the pedestrianised zone to a location on the other.
Period of validity
This permit is valid for one year.
Who can apply?
All those who in an occupational capacity need access by car or truck to the pedestrianised area between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Drivers of mopeds, scooters and motorbikes are not eligible for this permit.
How to apply?
Anyone who needs a permit to enable them to carry out their work smoothly and efficiently, should submit their application to the following address:
Note: permit applications must be made in writing.
Application form in Word format
Application form in Text format
Note
Your application will be assessed on the basis of necessity. We therefore require the following information:
Locations/business premises inside the pedestrianised area to which you require access
The frequency of access (daily, weekly, monthly, other)
The reason why you are not able to load/unload between 6 p.m. and 11 a.m.
The precise description of your activities as an applicant
Your trade register number as an applicant
The registration number of the vehicle for which you are submitting a permit application
Exemptions
People with disabilities, elderly people who have difficulty walking and people with restricted mobility do not require a permit and may be collected and dropped off within the pedestrianised zone at any time of the day or night.
No through-traffic in the city centre
The aim is and will continue to be: to make Ghent a city that is accessible and pleasant to live in, ready to embrace the 21st century. By far the most important measure to achieve this is to keep through-traffic out of the city centre. This traffic must make use of the city's ring road and the P-route (parking route). Signs along the ring road indicate which car parks are nearby and how many spaces are still available in them. When you follow these signs you automatically end up on the P-route.
A parking route encompassing the city centre
Drivers who do need to be in the city centre must have easy access to it. A parking route, or P-route, has therefore been introduced that picks up the traffic towards the city centre on the ring road and takes it to a car park either on or in the immediate proximity of the P-route.
This P-route operates in a clockwise and an anti-clockwise direction around the city centre.
The P-route in a clockwise direction is sign-posted in green; the anti-clockwise route in yellow.
The signs also indicate which of the major city squares the route goes past.
The P-route takes you past all the car parks. If you need to be somewhere in the vicinity, you will have to park your car in one of these car parks and continue on foot. These car parks now provide the only car parking in the area.
Upon leaving the city centre the main exit points (ancient city gates) are sign-posted (Brugsepoort, Brusselsepoort, Sint-Lievenspoort, etc.). From there you will be able to join the maivn arterial roads into and out of the city.
Easy parking nearby
Some people have difficulty walking, the weather is not always pleasant and carrying heavy shopping is not much fun.
We therefore saw it as vital that the Mobility Scheme should provide for easy car parking nearby so that every visitor is able to park their car within a walking distance of 400 m from their destination.
Underground car-park at Vrijdagmarkt
And the scheme takes things a step further for local residence: special residents' car-parking spaces have been provided in the immediate vicinity of their front door. Furthermore, because we positively welcome people with disabilities to our city, they will also be permitted to use these spaces.
The car parks are: Vrijdagmarkt, Belfort, Sint-Baafs, Zuid, Ketelpoort, Kouter, Centerparking, Sint-Michiels and Ramen.
You will find further information about car parks and charges in the section on car parking.
Space for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport
With the fourth pillar in place the structure becomes stable: breathing space for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport.
An ever-increasing number of people discover that you do not always need to take the car and that, with a little effort, there are other ways to get about; ways which in a few years will have to be used if we all want to avoid being stuck in traffic the moment we leave the house.
By then it will be a good thing for people to know their way around in and into the city centre on foot, by bicycle and public transport.
Pedestrianised zone
The pedestrianised area in Ghent city centre is sign-posted.
Pedestrians-Only signs mark off an area or street where pedestrians have absolute - and we do mean absolute - priority.
This means that within this area, pedestrians can walk wherever they want. All other road-users, such as cyclists, public transport, permit-holders' cars, taxis and delivery trucks on their way to or back from making a delivery, must take due care and drive slowly.
Cyclists
Under the new traffic regulations, cyclists also have unrestricted access to the pedestrianised area. They are permitted to cycle everywhere at all times, but they do have to take the pedestrians rights into consideration.
Cyclists must therefore proceed slowly or get off their bike and walk if it is too crowded.
Wheelchairs
Wheelchair-users have the same rights as pedestrians in the pedestrianised area, even if their wheelchair is motorised.
Loading and unloading
Loading and unloading is permitted in Ghent's city centre between 6 p.m. and 11 a.m. Since pedestrians must not be inconvenienced by these activities, loading and unloading is strictly forbidden between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Drivers with permits
Certain groups of people, such as local residents, healthcare professionals and workers, can obtain a permit that entitles them to drive their car in the pedestrianised area. These permit-holders must also drive with due consideration and drive slowly. To think of the pedestrianised area as a racetrack is a serious misconception.
An application form for a permit is available from Dienst Mobiliteit, tel. +32 (0)9 266 77 65 or +32 (0)9 266 77 86, fax +32 (0) 9 266 77 99.
Public transport
Trams and buses have access to the pedestrianised zone. This is of course to encourage people to use public transport into the city centre instead of taking the car and so avoiding parking problems.
Trams and buses also have to give pedestrians due consideration.
You can obtain information about public transport by phoning the public transport company DE LIJN on +32 (0)9 210 94 91.
Taxis
Taxi drivers also have a permit that entitles them to drive their car inside the pedestrianised zone. And they too must give pedestrians due consideration and keep down their speed, even if they are in a hurry to pick up a customer or take them to their destination.
Work goes on
The work to turn the city's streets and squares into pedestrian-friendly places goes on. Sint-Michielsbrug, CataloniÎstraat and Emile Braunplein still look as if they have to be able to take heavy traffic. This will change. All streets and squares in the pedestrianised zone will undergo major alterations in order to accommodate pedestrians and cyclists more comfortably.
This means we are removing kerbs and all kinds of obstacles and we are re-surfacing the streets and squares to make them comfortable for pedestrians and cyclists. Sint-Baafsplein, Mageleinstraat, Koestraat, Kalandenberg and many other shopping streets have already undergone these changes. Korenmarkt, Groentemarkt and Emile Braunplein are next in line.
Parking
Paid street parking
The Paid parking system is usually introduced upon explicit request from/Paid street-parking is being universally introduced upon explicit request from the residents, traders and the liberal professions because of the shortage of parking spaces. The Pay & Display system increases the turnover of cars in the parking spaces.
The maximum time limit (for ordinary users) is 2 hours and cars stay no longer than is strictly necessary. This keeps away the drivers who want to park for longer periods, who lie at the root of much of the local discontent, thus enabling the traders' customers and the clients of the liberal professionals to find a car-parking space more readily.
Resident's permits are available to local residents free of charge provided they meet certain conditions. We seek in this way, to reconcile the interests of the residents with those of the local businesses.
The third interest group is the residential, work, and visitors' traffic for people who want to park for longer periods of time. Our traffic policy makes provision for these groups with underground parking facilities, Park & Ride facilities on the outskirts of the city and the promotion of alternative methods of transport (train, tram, bus, bike). These facilities are for the most part already in place or will be in the near future.
Furthermore, a special 'long-stay' charge of 80 francs per day has been introduced in the zone outside the P-route (parking route) for this group. This special rate was not directly introduced to discourage long-stay parking, since experience has shown that the simple act of introducing paid parking has a sufficiently limiting effect.
Tariff 1
If you opt for tariff 1, you pay BEF 375 for half a day's parking (except on the Shop&Go parking spaces, which are charged at BEF 750). You do not need to pay at the Pay & Display machine.
If no valid ticket is displayed in your windscreen, a traffic warden will put a payment slip under your windscreen wiper, which entitles you to half a day's parking.
This payment slip is the demand for payment, which must be made within 5 days. Payment can be made at the Parkeerbedrijf offices (Parkeerbedrijf runs the majority of the city's car-parking facilities), at the Vrijdagmarkt car park or by money transfer (using the appropriate form).
Tariff 2
If you choose to pay for a ticket at the Pay & Display machine, tariff 2 is applicable.
Within the city centre (the area on and inside the P-route) this is an incremental tariff, the first hour costing 30 francs and the second hour 50 francs. The maximum parking limit is 2 hours.
Within the city centre area you are charged an intentionally high rate of 30 francs for half an hour. This rate is applicable in what is referred to as the Shop&Go places (Belfortstraat, Henegouwenstraat, Kammerstraat [the section between Belfortstraat and Vrijdagmarkt], Sint-Niklaasstraat, Voldersstraat and Vlaanderenstraat) and in the vicinity of the Vrijdagmarkt car park (Baudelostraat, Waaistraat and on Edward Anseeleplein). The parking limit is half an hour.
Furthermore, an intentionally high tariff of 10 francs for a quarter of an hour is in place on Koningin Maria-Hendrikaplein, the square by Sint-Pietersstation. The parking limit here is 15 minutes.
Outside the P-route, a linear tariff of 20 francs is in place in the paid-parking zone. Here too the maximum limit is 2 hours. In this zone you can also opt for the long-stay tariff, where you pay 80 francs for the whole day.
When do you have to Pay & Display?
Parking charges apply every day except on Sundays and public holidays and on 11 July, from 9 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and from 2.30 p.m. to 7 p.m. On Shop&Go spaces payment is required throughout the day, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
How do you Pay & Display?
Insert the appropriate number of coins into the machine according to the amount of time you wish to park. The maximum time you are permitted to park there and your chosen time are displayed alternately. Confirm your choice by pressing the button and your ticket is then printed.
If you pay the maximum amount, the ticket is printed automatically, so there is no need to press the button.
All machines accept Proton cards.
Display your ticket in your windscreen, making sure the printed side is clearly visible.
Ten-in-one tickets
These are special pre-printed tickets that give you ten 4-hour stretches of continuous parking, ideal for people who do not want to pay at the machine every two hours but who do not want to use the tariff 1 payment slip system.
You simply fill in the date indelibly on the card and indicate whether you wish to park in the morning or in the afternoon.
The price of a white ten-in-one ticket for the city centre is BEF 2,000. This can only be used in the city centre zone. Such a ticket is not necessary outside the P-route zone since there the long-stay tariff (tariff 3) is available.
Resident's permits
Special provision has been made for residents with the resident's permit, which is obtainable free of charge and provides unlimited parking in the designated areas.
Parking - Car parks
Inside the city centre, nine car parks provide nearly 4,000 parking spaces. Four of these are managed by private firms (Interparking and Cityparking); these are the Zuid, Kouter, Centerparking and Ketelpoort car parks.
The others are run by Parkeerbedrijf Stad Gent; they are the Vrijdagmarkt and Sint-Michiels underground car parks and the Belfort, Sint-Baafs en Ramen car parks.
A competition is currently being held for the Ramen site for the design of an underground public car park (providing 240 spaces), new office premises for Parkeerbedrijf Stad Gent and a variety of quality housing, all congruous with the local environment.
Parking -Parking route
A system of road signs directing you to the car-park of your choice
Simply follow the electronic road signs: they direct you to the nearest car-parks and indicate the number of parking spaces that are free at that time.
Car-parks are linked up to the system
A total of nine car-parks are linked up to the system.
CAR PARK SECTOR
P1 Vrijdagmarkt VRIJDAGMARKT
P9 Belfort VRIJDAGMARKT
P2 Sint-Baafs ZUID
P3 Zuid ZUID
P4 Ketelpoort KOUTER
P5 Kouter KOUTER
P6 Centerparking KOUTER
P7 Sint-Michiels SINT-MICHIELS
P8 Ramen SINT-MICHIELS
The car-parks are subdivided into four sectors, as shown above: Belfort, Zuid, Kouter and Sint-Michiels (see street map).
Approach roads
The sign-posts to the different car-parks start from where each of the eighteen major approach roads joins the ring-road.
Wiedauwkaai
Muidepoort
Koopvaardijlaan
Antwerpsesteenweg
Victor Braeckmanlaan
Dendermondsesteenweg
Exit Gent E17 (B401)
Hundelgemsesteenweg
Zwijnaardsesteenweg
Hofbouwlaan
Kortrijksesteenweg
Groot-BrittanniÎlaan
Henri Dunantlaan
Drongensesteenweg
Brugsesteenweg
Palinghuizen
Frans Van Ryhovelaan
P-route
The P-route (parking route) is like a mini ring-road around the city centre linking all the car-parks. The purpose of the P-route is to ensure that every road-user is able to reach the car-park of their choice as smoothly and easily as possible. There is a P-route in a clockwise direction and one in an anti-clockwise direction. The clockwise P-route is sign-posted in green and the anti-clockwise P-route is sign-posted in yellow (see street map).
How does all this work in practice?
Join the ring-road from one of the eighteen major approach roads.
Decide in which of the sectors you wish to park, taking into account their location and the number of free car-parking spaces.
Follow the signs to the chosen sector until you reach the P-route.
Follow the P-route to the car-park of your choice.
Make sure you continue to drive either in a clockwise direction (green signs) or in an anti-clockwise direction (yellow signs).
Road signs
DYNAMIC AND STATIC SIGNS
These signs have variable displays indicating the number of parking spaces that are free at that time.
General overview
At the points where each of the 18 approach roads joins the P-route is a sign giving a general overview of the total number of spaces available.
Directional
Other signs direct you along the route of your choice and indicate the number of free car-parking spaces for each car-park or sector.
Entrance signs
These are located at the entrance of every car-park and indicate the number of free spaces and the opening hours.
STATIC SIGNS
These are smaller road signs aimed at preventing drivers from getting lost on their way to the next dynamic sign.
As you can see, the static signs along the P-route have a yellow or green background. This is to prevent road-users travelling along the P-route in a clockwise direction (green) from accidentally joining the anti-clockwise direction (yellow). These coloured signs also immediately show road-users that they have reached the P-route.
The benefits of the system
Clear sign-posts to the various car-parks.
Drivers know how many car-parking spaces are free at any given time in the city centre even before they reach the ring-road and as they follow it.
Better distribution of cars across the different car-parks.
Fewer cars looking for car-parking spaces.
Parking in car-parks makes the city centre more pleasant to live in and more easily accessible.
Postal address: Stadhuis, Botermarkt 1 te 9000 Gent
Offices: Grauwpoort 1 te 9000 Gent
tel. +00 32 (0)9 224 02 94 - Fax +00 32 (0)9 225 68 65
e-mail parkeerbedrijf@gent.be
Dendermondsesteenweg
Exit Gent E17 (B401)
Hundelgemsesteenweg
Zwijnaardsesteenweg
Hofbouwlaan
Kortrijksesteenweg
Groot-BrittanniÎlaan
Henri Dunantlaan
Drongensesteenweg
Brugsesteenweg
Palinghuizen
Frans Van Ryhovelaan
How does all this work in practice?
Join the ring-road from one of the eighteen major approach roads.
Decide in which of the sectors you wish to park, taking into account their location and the number of free car-parking spaces.
Follow the signs to the chosen sector until you reach the P-route.
Follow the P-route to the car-park of your choice.
Make sure you continue to drive either in a clockwise direction (green signs) or in an anti-clockwise direction (yellow signs).
Road signs
DYNAMIC AND STATIC SIGNS
These signs have variable displays indicating the number of parking spaces that are free at that time.
General overview
At the points where each of the 18 approach roads joins the P-route is a sign giving a general overview of the total number of spaces available.
Directional
Other signs direct you along the route of your choice and indicate the number of free car-parking spaces for each car-park or sector.
Entrance signs
These are located at the entrance of every car-park and indicate the number of free spaces and the opening hours.
STATIC SIGNS
These are smaller road signs aimed at preventing drivers from getting lost on their way to the next dynamic sign.
As you can see, the static signs along the P-route have a yellow or green background. This is to prevent road-users travelling along the P-route in a clockwise direction (green) from accidentally joining the anti-clockwise direction (yellow). These coloured signs also immediately show road-users that they have reached the P-route.
The benefits of the system
Clear sign-posts to the various car-parks.
Drivers know how many car-parking spaces are free at any given time in the city centre even before they reach the ring-road and as they follow it.
Better distribution of cars across the different car-parks.
Fewer cars looking for car-parking spaces.
Parking in car-parks makes the city centre more pleasant to live in and more easily accessible.
