Tuesday evening 30 June, a warm summer evening in Brussels, time to test the new pedestrian zone on my way home from work. What strikes immediately is the positive vibe that made me feel good instantly! People talk, play (not only the kids), stroll, eat, drink, sit or simply watch and smile. I saw a lot of smiles yesterday evening. The car-free area is dominated by pedestrians but people are also strolling around on bicycles. And surprisingly, the mix of cyclists is much more diverse than what I usually see on the streets during rush hour. More children too. And it didn't feel too touristy to me. An anecdote: Sitting on one of the new wooden benches, I started talking to a stranger (male, African origin, lives in Brussels for 4 years).  He lives in the neighbourhood and was about to move out to a calmer side of the city, mostly fed up with the noise. Two days ago however, he changed his plans and decided to stay exactly where he is. He also had a lot of creative ideas about what the pedestrian zone could look like. Let's hope the city council will involve inhabitants for the future design of the area.     How about the rest of the city centre? Suffering from more car traffic? More traffic nuisance for people living right outside the area? The first day of the new pedestrian zone, combined with a lot of other summer road works and a vehicle that broke down in one of the tunnels, caused heavy traffic especially on the Brussels ring. But on day two the traffic had already calmed down. It is too soon to draw any conclusions, but we hope that people will change their mindset and behaviour. That they will understand that there are better alternatives than the car to go to the city centre and for ridiculously short distances. That they will realize the city centre has become a nicer place to live, especially for the many Brussels children in this dense area that might not have a garden to play in at home. I didn't plan to stay very long in the pedestrian zone, but in the end I noticed I was already there for two hours. Time flies when you're having fun! For more pictures, check www.cyclechic.be 

About the author Benedicte Swennen is ECF’s Urban Mobility and Cities Policy Officer and Cities for Cyclists network manager. Prior to working for ECF, she worked for Bond Beter Leefmilieu, a Belgian (Flemish) NGO for the environment, focusing on sustainable mobility, organizing promotion campaigns and developing the long term vision on mobility. Follow Benedicte on Twitter @BenedicteECF or take a look at her contributions to the Belgium Cycle Chic blog.