Figures from the Flemish traffic centre show Flemish traffic jams reached a record length during the past year. Congestion reached new heights last spring, but November was even worse.
The Flemish traffic centre has been crunching the figures since 2011 and considers the length of the jams as well as the duration. In November average congestion stood at 1,035 kilometres per hour on main roads. The figure is higher than that of the last pre-pandemic year 2019.
It’s especially traffic jam duration that has grown. Morning rush hour blends seamlessly into evening rush hour, especially when it’s raining. The roads network hasn’t expanded but the number of cars continues to grow fuelled by population and economic growth.
Impact of pandemic cancelled
The impact of the pandemic, which reduced congestion, has completely disappeared. The positive effect of home working and greater bicycle use is cancelled out by growth in leisure and freight traffic.
Brussels is better off than Antwerp. The service economy with lots of office workers dominates in Brussels and Leuven. Here there is more homeworking, but Antwerp is a logistic and industrial hub where vans and trucks dominate and fewer people are able to get to work on public transport.