| PROJECT NAME: | Guaranteed accessibility at bus and tram stops in Brussels during the redesign of some of its streets. |
| CITY: | Brussels, Belgium. |
| LOCATION: | 71 Av. Princesse Elisabeth and Avenue Rommelaere. |
| DATE OF INSTALLATION: | February 2023. |
The city of Brussels is currently redesigning many of its streets, and will continue to do so in the coming years. This redesign has meant that bus and tram routes have had to be temporarily reconfigured. During this period, STIB, the transport operator in Brussels, faces the challenge of ensuring accessibility at the new stops created for buses and trams. To address this challenge, STIB decided to announce an international tender to propose temporary platform solutions that could include other elements of urban furniture, such as shelters or seats.
Project requirements and objectives.
The work was to last for an average of 3 to 6 months, and STIB therefore needed a temporary platform-type solution at the stops that was easy to install and dismantle, without the need for cranes or traffic disruptions and that would also give comparable results to those of a permanent installation. STIB set a multitude of design and functionality requirements that the platforms to be installed at the stops had to comply with to ensure accessibility and safety:
- Incorporation of directional modules.
- Inclusion of a band of warning modules.
- Installation of access ramps from the road.
- Platform connection to the pavement.
- Visibility both day and night.
- Integration of seats on the platform.
- Inclusion of a shelter built into the platform.
- Easy installation without the need for cranes or traffic disruptions.
- System for temporary attachment to the road that is capable of withstanding any impact from vehicles without moving.
- Possibility of including the International Accessibility Symbol on the surface of the platform to identify the boarding area for users with functional diversity.
- Adaptation of platform height in accordance with city accessibility requirements.
Proposed solution: Vectorial® system platforms.
Among several solutions proposed by different companies, STIB chose the ZICLA Vectorial® system.
For the first phase of this project, STIB decided to install 6 Vectorial® system platforms with a pavement extension configuration. The modularity, the ability to customise the colour and surface of the modules, reversibility, the integration of urban furniture and, above all, the ease of installation and dismantling were the key factors in STIB choosing this solution.
This is a first phase of the project, but the roadworks in the city are expected to continue which involve the reconfiguration of other bus and tram routes. It must therefore continue creating new accessible stops, and is considering using our Vectorial® system once again. STIB envisages the possibility of reusing parts from the platforms it dismantles in the installation of new platforms in other locations, thanks to the modularity and flexibility of the Vectorial® system.
