A social media post dating to 10 February recently led to disagreements in the municipality of Bettembourg. Facebook user Rudi Frana shared a picture of the aforementioned traffic island, which shows that it was placed shortly before a zebra crossing and right across a bus stop.
The line in the middle of the road has a significant curve and thereby forces motorists coming from Huncherange to briefly drive at the same level as the rest of the opposing lane, with the latter having been diverted even further to the side.
In his post, Frana explains that he came close to colliding with a vehicle on the opposing lane while driving at the spot in question when it was dark and rainy. For that reason, he said that he contacted the Ministry for Mobility and Public Works to draw attention to the danger.
Frana explained that he was then referred to the Bridges and Roads Authority, which in return told him to contact the municipality of Bettembourg. All three said however that they were aware of the situation and that a change has been planned.
On Monday 13 February, municipal employees removed the painted traffic island.
Since Bettembourg Mayor Laurent Zeimet is currently abroad, our colleagues from RTL spoke to First Alderwoman Josée Lorsché, who explained that the municipality painted the island as the Bridges and Roads Authority proposed this as a temporary measure.
Lorsché further noted that the town does not have the authority to conduct actual construction work at the location since it is a national road. The municipality painted the island, but was never convinced of the proposal, said Lorsché.
Officials from the municipality and from the Bridges and Roads Authority are now set to meet, which is why Lorsché expects there to soon be a construction-based solution for the dangerous spot.
People from the Bridges and Roads Authority seem to have a different recollection of how the painted traffic island came about. According to them, they never proposed to paint an island and were utterly surprised when it suddenly appeared about a month ago.
According to spokespeople, they were actually surprised that it took this long before someone took to social media to complain about the situation. In any case, they welcome the municipality’s decision to remove the island as it represented a danger to motorists.
The Authority further argues that the municipality is in charge of working out a new proposal, which points towards a lack of communication between both entities.
