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SERIES (3/5): Liège and its photos
A few weeks ago, Liège was our top 1 in terms of mobility in Wallonia in our big ranking. And for good reason: we have a very well served station, cycle paths, various public transport… The arrival of the tram only strengthens its position in terms of mobility.
The famous Guillemins station had an average of 27,436 travelers during the week in 2023. This is the first score in Wallonia, just ahead of Louvain-la-Neuve, with a few travelers…
No more pedestrians
Many developments have been made in Liège, particularly with regard to pedestrians, with many spaces now inaccessible to cars. “The City has recorded a significant increase in the number of pedestrians on certain streets, in particular thanks to developments encouraging walking. On average, 4,200 pedestrians per day use the Saucy footbridge, and 8,500 pedestrians use Rue Saint-Paul in the pedestrian area.“, explains the City.
Some spaces have been so revamped, like rue de la Casquette, where many bars and restaurants have been able to set up, with a terrace if the weather permits, this makes the atmosphere pleasant.
The car, more complicated
Moving cars away from the city center seems to be a desire assumed by Liège politicians. Many parking spaces have been removed, streets modified (we are thinking in particular of rue Joffre, which no longer allows cars to go up towards Saint-Lambert) and certain lanes have been narrowed. In 2022, 44.6% of households did not own a car, this is the highest rate in Wallonia, this can be explained in several ways: many people work and live in the city, while in the countryside , you often need a car to get around, the inhabitants also have low incomes, compared to the rest of Wallonia, etc.
But it is also for people who live outside the city and who want to come there that the situation is more annoying. The number of places for local residents has increased (which is good for some but less for others), there are almost no more free or paid places (not to mention that a scan car passes every 5 minutes in the city center to verbalize),… It is ultimately for this mode of transport that the city has invested the least in recent years, and even reduced many possibilities. When it comes to parking, the situation is often complex, while some people simply have no choice. Although, fortunately, paid parking lots allow tourists to find a space easily.
So for the moment: it is not always easy to find a place to park, but generally speaking, you should not “move around” too much in the city to find one (except during periods such as the fair, the Christmas market, etc.), the search time is relatively acceptable, which is rather positive. Unless obviously, we still decide to eliminate places in the city…
With the various tram works, the mobility of cars remains quite reasonable, there are not too often queues and the roads have been resurfaced.
And the cyclists?
On the cycling side, numerous facilities have been created in the city. But paradoxically, with the arrival of the tram, certain cycle paths have been cut, such as on Boulevard de la Sauvenière.
According to the cycling barometer published by GRACQ, the city is however in a very poor position with regard to bicycles with a “G” rating, that is to say the last in the ranking (which works a bit like energetic classes for buildings). “Compared to 2021 (2.67 and 2.25 in 2023), this is a significant deterioration and a result which reflects a VERY UNFAVORABLE CLIMATE to cycling in Liège. Liège is positioned in 76th place out of 86 Walloon municipalities and obtains 7th place out of 9 among municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants, well behind Charleroi.”
But the city does not agree with this observation: “For municipal authorities, the barometer is a perception of cyclists, at a specific time, which must be taken into account and heard (tram work). But based on the observation of an increase in resources, infrastructure and especially in the number of cyclists, the City of Liège wishes to put into perspective the negative climate adopted during the results by the GRACQ, while the City of Liège has always maintained a constructive dialogue with the cyclists' defense group“.
One thing is certain, the tram work and its delays have impacted mobility in a global way, the figures of the cycling barometer are perhaps therefore in contrast with the situation of the city, and all the developments which are being built for different means of mobility.
With the end of the tram work, the people of Liège are starting to see the end of the tunnel, the situation can only improve, at least we hope so…
