
Cycle motorway to Brussels Airport
The Flemish government approved the subsidy of €513,795.58 for the cycle motorway the 'S-Bocht' [S Bend], also known as F3s, along railway line 36 (HST cycle route) and the A201 Leopoldlaan. The Province of Flemish Brabant will also grant a subsidy for the same amount for these works. The construction of this cycle motorway is a cooperative effort by and between the Flemish Region, the Province of Flemish Brabant, Brussels Airport Company and the Municipality of Zaventem. The works will start after the summer.
The 'S-Bocht' [S Bend] as it is known, is a strategic connection of the F3 Leuven-Brussels cycle motorway, one of the priority cycle motorways in Flemish Brabant and part of the FietsGEN (Regional Express Network) between Flanders and the Brussels Capital Region. The S-Bocht is 1.8 km long and will be constructed between the F3 cycle motorway and the A201 Leopoldlaan. This cycle motorway is part of a route from the desired supra-local functional cycle route network of the Province of Flemish Brabant.
Most of the S-Bocht will be located in the bed of the former railway line. To the east the S-Bocht will connect to cycle motorway F3 east of the Martinusweg and Nossegemwegje intersection. On the west side the S-Bocht will connect to a new project by the Municipality of Zaventem to improve the current unpaved path along the wall of the Zaventem cemetery, which then joins the Kerkhoflaan. Finally, the S-Bocht on the north side will join the A201 Leopoldlaan near Heidestraat, giving cyclists access to the airport.
With 70,000 passengers a day (before the coronavirus crisis), 24,000 employees and thousands more commuters passing through, it is obvious that the airport should promote smart mobility. Currently, about 1% of airport employees cycle to work, so there is still enormous potential. With the construction of the safe and fast branching off of the cycle motorway, we hope to increase that percentage quickly.
Arnaud Feist - CEO Brussels Airport Company
We will be investing heavily in safe and comfortable cycle motorways such as this S-Bocht in the coming years. We will bring about a smooth connection to Brussels Airport with a Flemish subsidy of more than €500,000. Together with the Province of Flemish Brabant we are going to speed up the completion of this project. The S-Bocht is part of the 'Working on the Ring' project, which should improve mobility in the Flemish Rim [Brussels Periphery]. The Flemish have (re)discovered the bicycle and together with the government of Flanders, we want to encourage everyone to continue to use it, especially for the home-to-work and home-to-school commute.
Lydia Peeters - Flemish Minister of Mobility
The F3 is a frequently used commuter route. The completion of the S-Bocht will connect us to the airport - an important employer in our region. The S-Bocht will be constructed with a comfortable 3.5m wide asphalt pavement with lighting. With this investment we are boosting the potential of the F3 and hope to convince more employees and travellers to use the bicycle to get to the airport. Together with Flanders, we will invest heavily in cycle motorways in our province in the coming years.
Tom Dehaene - Commissioner of Mobility
The implementation of the S-Bocht fits within the strategy of the municipality of Zaventem to focus fully on the completion of a safe and comfortable cycling route network during this legislature. The S-Bocht will provide an additional incentive to use the bicycle for the home-to-work commute to the airport, and will hopefully also provide some relief for our congested roads and motorways… It is certainly an extra tool to help our school-age children use the bicycle more often in a low traffic and safe environment.
Ingrid Holemans - Mayor Zaventem
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