Locals want Metro North 3 cancelled: 'Stop this disaster'

Nearly two weeks ago, the public investigation into the renewed permit application for the northern part of Metro 3 concluded. At Schaerbeek City Hall, construction company Beleris presented changes to the project to the consultation committee Tuesday afternoon, in the presence of dozens of concerned citizens. Beliris had to redraw the plans after the previous building application received positive advice under certain circumstances.

For example, the municipality of Schaerbeek, where four of the seven stations of the northern route are located, requested that the pedestrian bridge in Verboekhoven be deleted. This request has been met. The metro station below Liedtsplein has also been redesigned. From now on there will be one metro access instead of two. Furthermore, the water filtration plant at North Station has been redesigned, more bicycle parking has been added at some metro stations, above-ground public space is being treated differently here and there, and public toilets are being kept outside of the city's controlled areas. stations.

“scandal”

During the public investigation, more than two hundred citizens submitted objections to the project. About a hundred of them were asked to speak, and about fifty of them attended. “It is shameful that an advisory committee on such an important project was organized on a Tuesday afternoon,” answers Pascal, a resident of Iver, where three metro stations are planned.

Like many other attendees, he was not satisfied with Belleris' presentation. “We see few details. For example, I would like to know more about the financial impact of this project on our property. How much will it be worth during and after the works? I'm afraid you will be giving the construction company a blank check.”

Brussels MP for Ecolo Isabelle Pauthier is also dissatisfied with the way the slightly modified metro project was proposed. You talk about a “scandalous display.” “Nothing has been said about the challenges and commitments involved in such a project. Just look at the impact on the Stalingrad region. “We are talking about at least seven years of work for seven stations, with inconvenience in the form of dust, noise and diversions, which she says We can call a green phone number,” says Pautier.

“I worry about the traders and other people who like me have invested in the neighbourhood,” adds Catherine, who has lived in the area around Collignonplain for fifty years. “It takes a long time to build a strong social fabric, but it can be destroyed very quickly. We don't actually know how long the arena will threaten our trade.

“Drilling without money”

“I am also concerned about how the subway, which will extend thirty meters under my house, will affect my property,” Catherine continues. “And you don't say a word about potential stability problems, which we read about all sorts of things in the press,” Potier added. The Metro 3 rail route will require excavation under the 19th-century Schaerbeek Town Hall on Colligny Square.

The Royal Commission for Antiquities and Landscapes issued important advice in this regard earlier this year. There are fears that the protected city hall will face the same fate as the South Palace, which will have to be dismantled due to stability problems. According to Belairis, this fear is unfounded, because the roof of the southern palace is different from Collignon Square, but almost all of the citizens present are concerned about that situation.