On the border of the Flemish Brabant town of Tervuren and Wezembeek-Oppem, one of the most important Hoppin Points along the Brussels Ring Road was officially opened on Wednesday.

The Hoppin Point branches off from the terminus of Streetcar 44 and is close to Tervuren Park and the Africa Museum. At the new Hoppin Point ‘Tramterminus 44’, for example, parking is provided for about 300 bikes and as many cars.

Largest Hoppin Point along N3

“This immediately makes this point the largest along the Brussels Ring Road”, said Flemish Minister of Mobility and Public Works Lydia Peeters (Open VLD), who attended the opening.

“The junction is also easily accessible by both streetcar and bus, and there is a connection to the future bicycle highway F29, between Brussels and Leuven, and F203, between Brussels and Tervuren. Thus, we help commuters combine different means of transport.”

The new Hoppin Point, where different means of transport and parking thus converge so that road users can switch from one means of transport to another easily, is located at the intersection of Leuvensesteenweg (N3) with Elisabeth Avenue, on the border of Wezembeek-Oppem and Tervuren.

There are connections to streetcar line 44 and bus lines 317, 558, and 830. Throughout the week, De Werkvennootschap, which carried out the works on behalf of the Flemish government, targets mainly commuters as users. At weekends, it targets visitors to Tervuren Park, the Africa Museum, and the Sonian Forest.

Currently, one can still park there for free, but from the end of this year, car parking spaces will become paying, although the various partners promise that it will not be expensive, according to the newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws.

A price tag of €4,5 million

The entire project costs 4,5 million euros, of which 3,2 million came from the Directorate of Buildings. The European Regional Development Fund also provided financial support.

In April, the newspaper Het Belang van Limburg wrote that of the planned 1 966 Hoppin Points in Flanders, barely 65 have been completed today, only 3% of the network. However, these new mobility hubs are crucial in the Basic Accessibility plan, whose first major phase will be rolled out in July.