Genk (The Brussels morning Newspaper): In 2022 Genk launched a traffic safety initiative involving residents in traffic counts using 50 counting frames. This data helps identify busy streets and improve road safety, particularly in residential areas.
In 2022 the city of Genk started an important initiative to improve road safety for all types of traffic. As part of this effort they proposed major traffic plans that required a clear understanding of the current traffic situation. To do this the city decided to conduct detailed traffic counts,involving the local community in the process. Residents were involved in this project by using counting frames simple tools that help track and count the flow of traffic. The process started with counts in the eastern and southern parts of Genk and later expanded to the northern and western areas. These counts were important for providing a clear picture of traffic patterns which helped city planners create better and safer road systems.
How Genk is using traffic counting frames to improve road safety and involve residents?
It has been said that to ensure comprehensive coverage 50 counting frames were distributed throughout Genk. This organized approach allowed the city to collect data from different locations giving a better understanding of traffic patterns in various parts of the city. This initiative shows Genk’s commitment to improving road safety and involving its residents in the process. “Citizens often say that there is too much traffic on some streets or that drivers are going too fas, and we use these counting frames to figure out the problem,” says Alderman Karel Kriekemans (CD&V). “These counting frames track both the amount of traffic and the speed. We mainly focus on smaller roads and residential areas because they need to be safer.” With this data the city can start working on ways to reduce traffic speed. “We do this by setting up temporary solutions. For example we might put up posts or temporarily close a road to see how it affects traffic. We’ve been doing this for three years and previous counts have shown that the new measures are helping improve traffic,” explains Kriekemans.
The previous counts have shown that some streets are very busy and the city is now focusing on these areas. For example the area around De Bret primary school is still quite crowded even after converting Schaapsdries into a bicycle street. The city wants to reduce car traffic there. They plan to continue using the counting frames in the next legislative period but it’s not yet decided whether to keep them in the same locations or move them. They’ve already set up some test measures like closing streets based on the data collected to see if these changes help with traffic congestion. Residents interested in installing their own counting frames can visit the City of Genk’s website for more information.
