Neighborhood committee fears traffic gridlock for Kanal museum opening

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The newly built Kanal museum in Brussels is scheduled to open its doors on Nov. 28, and organizers project between 60,000 and 100,000 visitors during its opening weekend. Although the 30,000 tickets available for the weekend sold out quickly, the building will remain accessible to visitors without reservations.

Traffic and Neighborhood Concerns at Kanal District

The anticipated influx of visitors has raised concerns among local residents and business owners. The Kanal District neighborhood committee fears a severe traffic gridlock due to ongoing construction and existing mobility problems around the area.

Wij staan bang te trillen, want er zijn nu al mobiliteitsproblemen, Jane Arkell, chair of the neighborhood committee and a business owner on the Akenkaai, told BRUZZ. She noted that construction work at the Ijzer and Sainctelette areas will not be finished, traffic circulation is difficult, and parking is scarce.

Construction work at the Saincteletteplein has restricted traffic to a single lane per direction since 2024. Furthermore, the Sainctelette exit on the Annie Cordytunnel is closed, compounding traffic disruptions that are scheduled to persist until late 2027.

Residents Question Parking Plans for Museum Visitors

While museum officials plan to emphasize public transport in their communications, residents remain skeptical about managing private vehicles. Arkell pointed out that assuming no visitors will drive is unrealistic, especially for those traveling from outside the city, and questioned where museum staff will park given the facility lacks a dedicated parking lot.

Another local resident, Jan Maarten de Vet, highlighted the scale of potential parking demands to BRUZZ. Ook al komt maar tien procent van de bezoekers met de auto, dan nog zal je 5.000 parkeerplaatsen nodig hebben, he said, adding that the museum opening coincides with the start of the Winterpret holiday event, which traditionally causes traffic congestion on the Willebroekkaai.

Neighborhood Sanitation and Lack of Coordination

Beyond transportation issues, the neighborhood committee criticized persistent problems involving litter and safety around the district. De Vet told BRUZZ that only two garbage bins are placed along a 300-meter stretch, leaving weekends dependent on residents to sweep the streets.

The committee also cited a lack of centralized coordination between the neighborhood and the numerous entities involved in the area. Arkell noted that while regular contact exists with the City of Brussels, a single point of contact is missing among stakeholders including Kanal, the Port of Brussels, Net Brussels, and the Brussels Intercommunal Transport Company.