Mobility

Download the index card accessibility of the Light Festival 2012.

Leave your car at home if you want to avoid difficulties!!!!

Last year, a lot of people visited the Ghent city centre for the light festival. We may expect that this year history will repeat itself. The City of Ghent, the public transport company De Lijn and the Belgian national railway company (NMBS) join efforts to organise transport to the light festival in the most optimal way. For your convenience we have listed all the possible means of transport.

On foot

It may not be evident for many people, but those who live in and around the city centre of Ghent better come on foot. People who live for example in Sint-Amandsberg only need to walk 15 minutes towards the city centre. In that case, you do not need to search for a free parking place or a free bicycle shed. And for those who have drunk too much, it is probably the safest way to get home.

By bike

In a cheap and quick way to the light festival … use your bicycle. Extra bicycle sheds make sure you can leave your bicycle in a safe way at the border of the festivities’ area.

We advise you to stall your bicycle as much as possible in the bicycle sheds. The locks of hindering bicycles might be cut through and the vehicles will be removed if necessary.

You can also rent a bicycle at Max Mobiel, Voskenslaan 27 – 9000 Gent (at the back of the Ghent Saint Peters’ Railway Station). Tel 09 242 80 46 e-mail max-mobiel@gent.be – www.max-mobiel.be

With the motor cycle

Those who come to Ghent with the motor cycle can find a parking place at the Steendam.

By tram or by bus

The Public Transport Company De Lijn has an excellent offer to bring you to the light festival. If you come by car, make it yourself easy: park at the P+R at Flanders Expo and take the tram to the city centre. You can find more information about the P+R under ‘auto + openbaar vervoer’ (car + public transport). You can also take the bus. De Lijn brings you back home till 1 a.m. thanks to the special light festival timetable.

The fixed transport lines underneath bring you in the immediate vicinity of the light festival during the evening settlement:
• tram lines 1, 24 and 4

• bus lines 3

All normal transport passes such as a season ticket or a ‘Lijnkaart’ can be used during the festival.
A good tip: buy your transport ticket in advance at the pre-sale points, the Lijn shops, via SMS ticketing (SMS ‘DL’ naar 4884) or at the ticket dispensing machines. This way you can save up to 50%.

More information at: www.delijn.be or 070 220 200 (0,30 €/minute)
Mind: during the light festival tram lines 1 & 4 will be interrupted.

By train

It is easy to reach Ghent by train from quite a number of communities or cities. And at the railway station of Ghent Saint Peters’ you can rent a bicycle. To this effect, you need to buy the ‘B-dagtrip ‘Trein + huurfiets’ (B-daytrip Train + rental bicycle).

Weekend ticket

If you go to the Light festival during the weekend by train, use the Weekend ticket of the NMBS. With this ticket, you enjoy a discount of 50% on each journey in 1st or 2nd class. You decide on which day you travel to the festival (Friday as from 7 p.m., Saturday of Sunday) and you choose when you return home during the same weekend. You buy your ticket in the railway station or online at www.nmbs.be



Free 4 Kids

Above all this, 4 children under the age of 12 can travel along when they are accompanied by an adult who pays for his train ticket!

You can find more information in the leaflet ‘B-dagtrips’ or free in all railway stations or at www.nmbs.be (travelling in Belgium, tips voor trips) or at the telephone number 02 528 28 28.

Taxis

At the Steendam, the Limburgstraat and at the Sint-Michielsplein you can hire a taxi. The taxis bring you home in a relatively cheap and in a quick and safe way.

A ride from Ghent Saint Peters’ Railway Station to the city centre or from Ledeberg to the festivities area costs about 12 €
You can find a complete list with all the tariffs at: www.gent.be/mobiliteit (under ‘autoverkeer/taxi’)

Car + public transport

We advise people against to use their car to drive all the way to the city centre. There are better and faster alternatives: you can park your car for free at the border of the city and use the tram or the bus of De Lijn. That is possible at the three large so-called ‘P+R’ parkings at the border of the city:

Flanders Expo: P+R and tram of De Lijn (around the clock)

Free parking at Flanders Expo (motorway E40, exit 14). More than 5.000 parking places.
De Lijn drives with tramline1 till 1 a.m. every five minutes to the city centre (Justitiepaleis, opposite the Opera) and back.

Gentbrugge: P+R combined with tram/bus of De Lijn

Free parking in Gentbrugge (underneath the viaduct of exit 10 of the E17): 250 parking places + additional parking possibilities along the Brusselsesteenweg.

From Brussels or Ostend: choose in Zwijnaarde the E17 in the direction of  Antwerp, exit 10 (Gentbrugge). From Kortrijk or Antwerp: E17, exit 10 in Gentbrugge. N9 (Brusselsesteenweg) from Melle: turn right at the traffic lights under the viaduct E17.

By car

Because of the large amount of people which will visit the festival, we advise against of using your car. The city centre will be complete in no time and looking for a place to park your car will be a true disaster because of the large pedestrian area during the Light Festival. We therefore advise drivers to make use of the P+R facilities (free parking + public transport: see previous page). Those who still want to try their luck can make use of the municipal parkings and are advised to follow the traffic guidance system.

Further information as regards parking:

Mobiliteitsbedrijf Stad Gent
Sint-Michielsplein 9 - 9000 Ghent

Tel: 09 266 28 00
Fax: 09 266 28 99
E-mail: parkeerbedrijf@gent.be

Parking for disabled people

People who own a parking card for disabled people can find reserved parking space in the city centre. Disabled people park for free, even on other parking places on the public road where you normally have to pay to park your car or on place which are located in the blue area. Mind: owning a parking card for disabled people does not entitle you to park on reserved residential parking places. 
You can find further information as regards the location of these places at the index card accessibility of the Light Festival 2012.

Pedestrian area (prohibited for cars)

During the Light Festival, the pedestrian area is only accessible for deliveries after 1 a.m. till 11 a.m. After 11 a.m. it is not longer possible to deliver goods!

There is a total drive through prohibition for motorised transport:
from Thursday January 26th up to and including Sunday January 29th.

This total drive through prohibition does NOT apply to:
services for public benefit, emergency and security services and recognised money transport
living and working traffic and loading and unloading activities:
every working day between 1 a.m. and 11 a.m.

This means that local residents, people who are employed in the Light Festival area, suppliers and taxi drivers can only drive with their motorised vehicle in the festivities’ area during the morning hours, and more specifically between 1 and 11 a.m.

In case you need to drive through the festivities’ area for urgent reasons, the police will on-site and for each separate case decide whether this is justified or not.
Under no circumstances special drive through permissions will be granted.

Information: GENTINFO - Tel 09 210 10 10 – gentinfo@gent.be

Parking for local residents

On some locations there will be a general parking ban during the entire period of the Light Festival.
Extra parking places for local residents will be temporarily provided. These places/locations can be consulted at the index card accessibility of the Light Festival 2012.