A major upgrade for the heart of Europe

The Rond-point Schuman in Brussels has finally changed its look. This famous roundabout was a depressing sea of grey asphalt and angry drivers for many decades. It sits right in the middle of the European quarter which meant the continent was represented by a giant knot of cars.

The local authorities recently decided that enough was enough. They transformed the entire area into a pedestrian zone. The new layout looks infinitely better than the old design.

People can now walk around without fearing for their lives. The space has been reclaimed from vehicles and turned into a pleasant urban square.

The subterranean funnel of doom

The surface might look calm and modern now but the real chaos has simply moved downstairs. A massive road tunnel runs directly underneath the new pedestrian square. This tunnel is the main artery for people trying to get in and out of the city center.

The tunnel is famous for being a complete and total traffic jam on almost every day of the week. Commuters spend a significant portion of their lives staring at the brake lights of the car in front of them. It is a highly efficient machine for creating stress and carbon emissions.

This underground bottleneck serves a very important purpose though. It provides direct access to the headquarters of the main European institutions.

The beautiful daily gridlock

The daily traffic around Schuman is a spectacular sight in its own right. The sheer volume of cars is genuinely impressive.

The layout of the surrounding streets makes the gridlock inevitable. Vehicles pour in from all directions and try to squeeze into the narrow lanes. It is a wonderful example of European unity because everyone suffers equally in the queue.

The atmosphere in the traffic jam is always highly charged. People are rushing to important meetings. Unfortunately they cannot even manage to move forward by five meters.

The ultimate lock down for the bosses

The regular daily gridlock feels like a minor annoyance compared to what happens during a European Council summit. These meetings bring the prime ministers and presidents of all the member states to Brussels.

The arrival of the political bosses causes an immediate and absolute shutdown of the entire quarter. The police close all the surrounding roads and block the tunnel entrances for security reasons. Giant metal barriers appear overnight and heavily armed officers patrol the empty streets.

The resulting traffic jams spread across the entire city like a virus. Normal commuters are forced to take massive detours or simply give up and stay at home.