Leuven’s mobility advisor Tim Asperges is the Mobility Person of the year  

Every year, the Belgian Network for Sustainable Mobility (Netwerk Duurzame Mobiliteit) designates a person who has done a lot for sustainable mobility in Flanders region (Belgium). For the year 2019 Tim Asperges from Polis member Leuven was chosen as the new Mobility Personality (Mobiliteitspersoonlijkheid).

Tim has been active in the mobility sector for the past twenty years. During the last five years he worked as a mobility advisor for the City of Leuven, where he was directly involved in the newly established urban access vehicle regulation (known as circulatieplan in Dutch, “circulation plan”).

Tim explained that sustainable mobility has the power to connect people and enabling them to live together. With cities becoming denser and the number of transport trips increasing, it is key to look at urban space in the most efficient way as possible. Leuven has been gradually transforming neglected and car-centred spaces into places for people who walk, cycle and use public transport.

In his interview, Tim underlines also the key role of politicians when it comes to take bold decisions. He hopes that politicians can more and more opt for a collaborative way of working with citizens while at the same time they are not influenced by the “perception” of the “public opinion”. There is a silent majority of people who do want and sustain the changes in the area of sustainable mobility, and they are not afraid of radical changes.

Read here the full interview or watch the video interview (in Dutch).