Riemst (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Bicycles Underground’ is a planned Limburg bike path through a quarry near Kanne, opening spring 2026, approved by Riemst. To protect bats, it closes Sept 15–May 1. Petition: 491 names, ~80 from Kanne.
As VRT News reported, the plan for a bike path near Kanne in Riemst, a small town in the province of Limburg, Belgium, is similar to other popular paths in Limburg. This new path will take cyclists through a quarry. However, the first request to build the path in 2024 was turned down. The Agency for Nature and Forests said no because they were worried about the environment.
They were especially concerned about the bats that live in the quarry during the winter. In addition, people in Kanne are worried that more tourists will make their lives worse. They are concerned about noise, traffic, and losing the peacefulness of their village.
Will ‘Bicycles Underground’ balance tourism and nature by 2026?
After the first plan was rejected, the project was changed and presented again. The biggest changes were made to protect the bats. The bike path will be closed every winter from September 15 to May 1. This is to protect the bats while they sleep. In the time before the path closes, from mid-August to mid-September, the path will only be open between 8 am and 8 pm, when the bats are not active.
The path was also moved to avoid places where bats rest. They mentioned that these changes were enough for the Agency for Nature and Forests to say yes. The new plan tries to balance tourism with protecting the environment and being considerate of the local community.
When people were asked about the new bike path, called ‘Bicycles Underground’, the local government received 5 official complaints. One of these was a petition with 491 names on it, showing that people had concerns. However, the government explained that the petition was not only about the bike path. It was about various projects happening in the area, indicating that people were generally worried about new construction.
Out of the 491 people who signed the petition, approximately 80 lived in Kanne, the village closest to the project. While some locals were concerned, a significant number of signatures came from other towns. This demonstrates a mix of local and regional interest in the discussion about how the area is planned and how it affects the environment.
According to the officials, if all goes well, the new ‘Bicycles Underground’ path is set to open in the spring of 2026. City officials have made it clear that this timeline relies on everything going according to plan during the planning and construction phases.
