17 Learn from others: Ghentify York

Ghent in Belgium is a city of similar size to York. By 2017, they were suffering from the same problems as us with traffic congestion. In response, they took decisive action by dividing the city into sectors and limiting the ability to drive between them. But you can walk, cycle and take public transport everywhere you want! This was hugely controversial at the time with naysayers predicting traffic chaos. In the event, within a single weekend, this radical move achieved everything that it set out to do which ultimately improved the quality of life for everyone in the city. The key to its success was that it instantly made cycling and walking truly viable, freeing up the roads for a more efficient public transport service at the same time as making it more difficult to drive. Oxford is now following suit.

In January 2020, City of York Council voted to ban all nonessential vehicle journeys within the city walls by 2023. We call on City of York Council to look to Ghent as model of how this inspiring example can be reproduced in York.

GHENT'S HISTORIC CENTRE