On Thursday evening a group of cyclists gathered to go on a cycling tour, with the intention to raise awareness for the lacking cycling safety on the city’s roads
The so-called “vigil tour” stems from a private initiative which was a reaction to a severe accident near “Néier Bréck” where a young cyclist was heavily injured.
© Raphaelle Dickes / RTL
Roughly 50 cyclists and biking enthusiasts gathered yesterday evening near the Gëlle Fra monument to promote the visibility of the dangers and problems of the biking infrastructure. Since March there have been two accidents involving severely injured cyclists in the Avenue Marie-Thérèse. One accident occurred between two cyclists, yet the second one was a collision between a cyclist and a delivery truck. These events worry cyclists.
Chris Meisch asked the company ProVelo and the City council to see if there are any political intentions to improve cycling infrastructure.
Listen to the report in Luxembourgish:
The junction between Avenue Marie-Thérèse and Boulevard Royal conforms to regulations, says the mobility deputy Patrick Goldschmidt. Nevertheless, infrastructure is on his mind, especially how it can be improved. The mobility plan is a start, but definitely not sufficient.
“Because of that, we have launched an additional cycling study, which includes international advisers, who are specialised in analysing our whole network of bike lanes, the state they are in now and what is meant to be changed. The specialised advisers cover the entire city, thus we could expect results in the upcoming year at the latest, giving us the opportunity to put into practice the critiques.”
© Didier Weber / RTL
With the “pop-up lane” cyclists were attributed an additional lane on the road. However, neither the cyclists nor vehicle drivers were happy about it, recognises Patrick Goldschmidt, who can definitely see potential for improvement in our infrastructures.
Monique Goldschmit, president of ProVelo, agrees.
“In general, we have advocated for a safe drive into the town centre, for example leading through Avenue Monterey. Before the tram’s arrival, we were promised that the street would be changed to a safer possibility to get into town, yet that project was laid on ice. Afterwards, the authorities told us it wasn’t possible any more, with the result that cyclists who need to get into town inevitably have to bike through a dangerous place.”
In regards to speed limits, the city centre would definitely benefit from slower speed regulations, claims Monique Goldschmit, who is an adamant believer in a 30 km/h tempo limit.
© Didier Weber / RTL
