Studies evaluating the alternatives are underway

30/06/2020

In June of last year we published the scoping note, which outlined in detail the various solution directions, alternatives and variants for the Ring North redevelopment. To assess all the options, several studies were begun last autumn: the environmental impact report (MER plan), the social cost-benefit analysis (MKBA), the spatial planning safety report (RVR) and a futureproof scan. The outcomes of these studies will enable each of the various alternatives to be weighed against the others.

“The planning objectives play a crucial role in the evaluation of the different alternatives and variants,” says Veerle Van Hassel, spatial planner at the Department of Environment and Spatial Development. In the Start note published in May 2018, we outlined four planning objectives that we want to achieve with the redevelopment of the Ring: a logical and traffic-safe infrastructure, increased liveability around the Ring, multi-modal accessibility of the region, and improved integration of the infrastructure within the landscape.

“As a planning team we felt the need to specifically define the planning objectives. We got to work by consulting a number of stakeholder groups and the citizens panel. Each planning objective was linked to several research questions and parameters. When, for example, we look at multi-modal accessibility, we can assess the extent to which an alternative is sufficiently flexible to integrate high-quality public transport, and also the degree to which it might be able to accommodate mobihubs. We split up all the planning objectives into different elements in this way so we would be better equipped to compare the alternatives.”

“These alternatives and variants are the result of not only extensive study, but also of wide-ranging participation and intense collaboration,” explains Nele Degraeuwe, programme manager at De Werkvennootschap. “We must be able to test all the potential options against the planning objectives. The input for this comes from the various studies which are underway: the MER plan, the MKBA, the RVR and the futureproof scan. The driving force behind these studies is the design-based research, managed and carried out by the planning team and MoveR0, in order to explore the options and optimise the alternatives.”

One of the studies currently in progress is the environmental impact report. “In it, we are investigating the possible impacts of the different alternatives and variants on the environment, in the broadest sense of the word,” says Cedric Vervaet, MER coordinator at Antea.

“A MER study is made up of different disciplines, which you can, broadly speaking, separate into three groups. There are the spatial disciplines, including the impact on the soil, water management, landscape and biodiversity, as well as agriculture and other activities. In the cluster of disciplines covering quality of life, we have mobility, air and noise. Here we are looking into how many people will be positively and negatively impacted by the various alternatives, in terms of air quality and noise pollution. Finally, we are also investigating the impact on climate. To find out the degree to which the alternatives can be adapted for a changing climate we are doing projections based on a number of climate scenarios for the years 2030, 2050 and 2100. We're also looking at the degree to which they contribute to the CO2-reduction goals of Flanders and Brussels.”

“So, we are evaluating the impacts that all the alternative options and their variants will have on the different disciplines. In this phase we are also identifying which mitigating measures are needed and where they will be required.”

“The MER plan results, as well as those from the other ongoing studies are expected in the autumn,” adds Nele Degraeuwe. “Then we will be able to adapt the alternatives, based on all the reported results. It is very possible that an optimised, or modular alternative could emerge from this process; one in which a different alternative could be chosen for each geographic area. But this will be only become clear when all study results have been processed.