Expanding the Brussels ring road and the myth of travel time savings

Abstract

In April 2021, the Flemish government published their plans for the redevelopment of the R0, the larger ring road around Brussels. These plans include a social cost-benefit analysis (SCBA) and an environmental impact assessment report (EIA) in which the pros and cons of various plan alternatives are weighed against each other. The current paper is a critical analysis of both official documents, and assesses to what extent recent academic insights regarding induced travel are being dealt with in the planning process for this motorway redevelopment project. Drawing upon a literature review, it is concluded that the existing body of knowledge on induced travel is largely ignored by the planning documents scrutinised, which suggests that the SCBA overestimates the economic benefits of the project, while the EIA underestimates the environmental impacts. While a road pricing scheme would potentially support the achievement of the stated planning objectives, it is not included in any of the proposed plan alternatives.