Vesdre River Greenway

Management and improved protection of rivers and other blue areas, Strategy, plan or policy development

Verviers’ VALUE investment focused on linking deprived economic areas in the eastern part of the city with the city centre, by improving the landscape quality of the River Vesdre’s banks. The project included the construction of a continuous and secure green path (foot/cycle path) along the river and incorporates the visions of local stakeholders through collaborative planning approaches. In addition to the general enhancement of the River Vesdre’s landscape the VALUE investment aims to improve the accessibility of Verviers’ blue/green network along the River Vesdre. (Ref. 2). "In addition to the general enhancement of the landscape quality of the River Vesdre, the investment had several aims. On the one hand, it will increase the accessibility of Verviers’ blue/green network, more particularly the accessibility of the river Vesdre, which is historically hidden behind the backyards or blind walls of houses. It will also increase the accessibility of the Marie Henriette park. On the other hand, the investment will link the residential city-centre with commercial/industrial areas which are located in the eastern part of the city" (Ref. 4).

The masterplan was planned to be implemented section-by-section and is contingent on investment opportunities along the banks of the river (e.g. Forum Invest in a new shopping center/Logivesdre, project of new housing) or funding opportunities. Due to these constraints a specific delivery time-scale has not been defined but the investment was expected to be medium to long-term. To balance the objectives of the masterplan the City of Verviers will continue to promote soft mobility throughout the town. Additional investments will be undertaken along the river as part of a more city-wide development of soft mobility opportunities (Ref. 2). "This project aims to analyze the valuation of a GI programme, namely a greenway called a cycling and pedestrian path, in Wallonia. GI is a comprehensive concept, which encompasses “managed and natural green areas in rural and urban environments, including woodlands, gardens and formal parks; green corridors such as bridleways, railway and road verges and cycle paths; street trees; waterways and open countryside. The collection of data will be through face-to-face interviews. A questionnaire has been developed including four parts. The first section of the questionnaire describes the project and asks questions about the respondent’s environment. The second section of the questionnaire is the contingent valuation (CV) part, and the third addresses the choice modelling (CM) part. The fourth section asks the respondent a few socio-demographic questions" (Ref. 5). "So far, funding problems have prevented the realisation of the three sections, which reduces the social, environmental and economic impact of the project. The budget constraints forced SPI+ and the city of Verviers to prioritise investment in those parts of the initial project that will make the most efficient use of available resources. Recently, this unsatisfactory situation has lead to a request to the Walloon Region for extra funding. This potential funding may have a significant effect on the impact of the VALUE investment and, as a consequence, the determination of the works will be made only after the response of the Minister is known" (Ref. 4).

• Local government/Municipality
• Citizens or community groups