BETWEEN US
Rives de Clausen
Fluidité du trafic Traffic flow eased
TEXTE Duncan Robertsâ PHOTOS David Laurent, Luc Deflorenne
Restriction importante des files dâattente pour le parking des Rives de Clausen. The number of cars allowed to queue for the Rives de Clausen car park has been severely restricted. La Ville de Luxembourg veut inciter les visiteurs Ă emprunter la navette gratuite qui relie Clausen depuis le parking du Glacis. The Ville de Luxembourg wants to encourage visitors to use the free shuttle bus that serves Clausen from the Glacis car park.
Le bourgmestre Xavier Bettel est satisfait de lâimpact de ses initiatives visant Ă fluidifier le trafic automobile Ă Clausen.
Mayor Xavier Bettel is pleased with the response to his initiatives to help ease traffic queues in Clausen.
En collaboration avec la police, la Ville de Luxembourg a fortement restreint les possibilitĂ©s de files dâattente au parking des Rives de Clausen. Quels sont les rĂ©sultats de ces mesuresâ?
Together with the police the Ville de Luxembourg has introduced clearly defined restrictions on traffic queuing for the Rives de Clausen car park. What has been the result of these measures?
Les premiers rĂ©sultats sont positifs. Nous avons organisĂ© deux semaines de prĂ©vention avec les services de police. Les automobilistes qui bloquaient la rue de la Tour Jacob pour pouvoir ensuite faire la queue au parking des Rives de Clausen ont Ă©tĂ© informĂ©s quâil ne serait plus possible dâattendre ici Ă lâavenir. Au terme de ces deux semaines, nous avons pris des mesures rĂ©pressivesâ: la police peut infliger des amendes et exiger le dĂ©placement de vĂ©hicules. Depuis, cela a posĂ© problĂšme une seule fois, durant 15 minutes, mais lâapparition de la police a suffi Ă faire dĂ©gager la rue. Le message est donc bien passĂ©. La collaboration entre la municipalitĂ© et la police fonctionne sans heurts. Nous avons pris ces mesures parce que les files de voitures, qui sâĂ©tendaient parfois jusquâĂ la montĂ©e de Clausen, devenaient dangereuses pour la sĂ©curitĂ© routiĂšre.
The first response has been positive. We had two weeks where we were working with the police on preventative measures. They were warning drivers of cars that were blocking the rue de la Tour Jacob to queue for the Rives de Clausen car park that in future they would not be allowed to wait there. After those two weeks, repressive measures have been introduced whereby police can fine drivers and demand that they move their vehicles. Since then there has been one 15-minute period where we had a problem, but once the police made an appearance drivers no longer blocked the road. So the message has gotten through. Cooperation between the commune and the police seems to be working well. We had to take action because the traffic queues, which sometimes even stretched as far as the Montée de Clausen, were posing a threat to road safety.
Y a-t-il eu une augmentation du nombre dâutilisateurs de la navette gratuite du Glacisâ?
Has the number of people using the free shuttle bus from the Glacis increased?
La frĂ©quentation a toujours Ă©tĂ© bonne, mais il semble que de plus en plus de personnes empruntent dĂ©sormais le bus du Glacis. Il faut persuader les non-rĂ©sidents que la navette est le moyen le plus simple et le plus pratique pour se rendre Ă Clausenâ: un bus tous les quarts dâheure et huit minutes de trajetâ! Par ailleurs, en cas de soirĂ©e bien arrosĂ©e, il vaut mieux laisser sa voiture au Glacis jusquâau lendemain plutĂŽt que de payer une place de parking.
They have always been well frequented, but it seems more and more people are now taking advantage of the Glacis bus. People should understand that the shuttle bus is the easiest and most stress-free way to get to Clausen for non-residents. The bus leaves every 15 minutes and takes just eight minutes to get to Clausen. And if someone has drunk too much they can leave their car at the Glacis overnight rather than pay for a car park.
Cela a-t-il contribuĂ© Ă lâamĂ©lioration des relations entre les rĂ©sidents et les cafetiersâ?
Has this helped ease problems between residents and bar owners?
Mon objectif Ă©tait de rĂ©unir les deux parties pour Ă©voquer la situation. Les points de vue ne convergent pas toujours, mais au moins les gens se parlent. Les chauffeurs de taxi sont les seuls Ă poser encore des problĂšmes. Ils attendent leurs clients en occupant des emplacements qui selon eux sont autorisĂ©s, alors quâils gĂȘnent le trafic automobile et les piĂ©tons. Je suis donc satisfait de la nouvelle lĂ©gislation proposĂ©e par le ministre Claude Wiselerâ: elle pĂ©nalisera sĂ©vĂšrement les chauffeurs de taxi qui ne respecteront pas les emplacements dĂ©finis par la loi. Quant aux nuisances sonores des terrassesâ: lâheure lĂ©gale de fermeture a Ă©tĂ© fixĂ©e Ă 23âh. Les bars qui ne se conforment pas Ă la rĂšgle risquent de se voir retirer leur licence.
My aim was to bring the two sides together around the table. Even if they do not always agree 100 percent at least they are talking. The only people with whom we still have problems are the taxi drivers. They stop in places where they think they can wait for passengers, but in fact they block traffic and pedestrians. So I am pleased with the new taxi legislation introduced by minister Claude Wiseler that will strictly penalise taxi drivers who do not adhere to the law about where they can wait for customers. As for the question of noise from terraces, the law states that they have to close at 11 p.m. and those bars that do not follow that rule will face problems with their licence.
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LI-CHUANâS CITY MAGAZINE LUXEMBOURG
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