30 September 2024

Question posed by Councillor Linda Gaasch

I am delighted that this question – which I had already tabled on 11 March 2024 – can be addressed today. The environmental report and action plan is an important tool that provides a general overview, and some details, of the environment-related measures that City of Luxembourg has adopted, or plans to introduce. In principle, the document is presented once a year: The environmental report covers the past year, and the action plan covers the current year. However, it has to be said that the last time an environmental report was presented to the Municipal Council and to the general public was in 2020, and the last action plan covers the actions planned for 2021 and 2022. As such, the members of the Municipal Council have yet to be presented with any information on the current situation, even though such information is necessary for us to exercise our mandate, for example, when discussing the annual budget. When does the College of Aldermen intend to present the environmental reports for 2021 and 2022, and the action plan for 2023? When will the environmental report for 2023 and the action plan for 2024 be presented?

Pending the presentation of the full document, does the College of Aldermen plan to convene any Environment Committee meetings so that the Municipal Council can be fully informed of the environmental situation and the environment-related actions to be introduced in Luxembourg City, especially as regards the energy efficiency of buildings, waste management and the city's building regulations?

Response provided by Alderman Maurice Bauer

First of all, I would like to apologise for the long delay in responding to this question. In recent years, we have experienced major issues in gaining access to energy- and climate-protection-related information. Our external partner had refused to forward the information to us for reasons that have to do with data protection. The issue has now been resolved. The report for 2022 is scheduled to be presented in November 2024, and the report for 2023 at the beginning of 2025. It should then be possible to resume the normal frequency of presenting the reports once a year, every year.

I would just like to remind you that I did actually provide a certain amount of information on this topic during our discussions on the budget. Information is also provided through the Klimateam, which now meets regularly once again. The Klimateam – of which the Environmental Committee is a member – met on 12 June 2024, and a second meeting is scheduled before the end of 2024. We are currently working on a series of measures, which will be presented to the Environmental Committee as soon as possible.

Urgent question posed by Councillor Nicolas Back

On 17 July, a cyclist was hit by a lorry in Avenue Marie-Thérèse. The young man was severely injured. He spent two weeks in hospital, and now needs crutches to walk. Given the condition of the bicycle, the consequences of the accident could have been much worse. As far as we know, the accident occurred at the junction between Avenue Marie-Thérèse and Boulevard Royal, as the lorry driver was attempting to turn right to head towards the train station.

Several other accidents involving cyclists occurred this summer. There were at least two other accidents in Avenue Marie-Thérèse, another in Place de l'Etoile, and one in Avenue Pasteur.

These accidents clearly show that the safety of cyclists is not guaranteed. Many people who were questioned as part of the development of the City's Mobility Plan also made the same observation. The College of Aldermen's efforts to encourage more people to use bikes will be in vain unless steps are taken to improve safety.

• Can you tell us exactly how the accident in Avenue Marie-Thérèse occurred?
• Do you have more details about the other accidents that occurred during the summer of 2024?
• Do you share our view that the cycle route in Avenue Marie-Thérèse needs to be upgraded? If so, what improvements do you recommend to ensure greater safety for cyclists? How soon will these improvements be implemented? We are sure that improvements can be made if there is the political will to do so.
• Are there any other places in the city that you are aware of, or that have been reported, where cyclists are particularly at risk? What steps do you intend to take to improve safety in these spots?

Response provided by Alderman Patrick Goldschmidt

It is true that a tragic accident occurred in Avenue Marie-Thérèse (on Place de Bruxelles). Many accidents involving cyclists and pedestrians are tragic, and are often caused by human error. In his written question, Councillor Back questioned the safety of the infrastructure. In recent years, we have taken steps to improve safety in Avenue Marie-Thérèse: the cycle lane has been raised, and the on-street parking spaces along the avenue have been removed.

At all junctions, road users who want to turn right should always be on the lookout for other road users, especially vulnerable users, such as cyclists and pedestrians. As regards the case in question, according to the relevant authorities and reports in the press, the accident was the lorry driver's fault.

As part of the government works to build a walkway beneath Pont Adolphe, the intersection at Place de Bruxelles was remodelled in 2016, and coloured markings were painted on the road. Further to the accident in question, it was ascertained and confirmed that everything had been done in accordance with existing government standards. It is a place where several roads intersect, like many others in the city. Some intersections are more dangerous because traffic is denser in these areas, and because there are more vehicles making left turns and right turns. The ideal move would have been to build an underpass for cyclists when the walkway you mentioned was being built but, unfortunately, that was not possible for technical reasons, and more specifically because of the configuration of the site.

With the government, we are planning to run an awareness campaign to get the message across to motorists that the number of cyclists on the road has increased.

We have commissioned the engineering firm Gehlen to conduct an analysis of the city's cycle routes, and of active travel in general, over the coming six months, and then to propose recommendations on improving safety for cyclists and pedestrians.

The second accident that Councillor Back mentioned had nothing to do with the first: two cyclists were involved in a head-on collision because one of the cyclists failed to check whether they had the right of way. That accident occurred in another part of Avenue Marie-Thérèse, on the pedestrian crossing between the municipal park and the walkway beneath Pont Adolphe. The traffic lights were working normally at the time. However, we are aware that the temporary situation at the spot in question is not ideal. Our departments will propose a long-term solution to the College of Aldermen in the coming months.

The City is not systematically informed whenever accidents occur in the capital. If we learn from the police or from press reports that an accident has occurred, the relevant City departments will try to find out why it occurred. In most cases, they occur when users fail to yield the right of way. In all the cases that have been reported to us, the intersections were in compliance with current safety standards. We will continue our efforts to improve the safety of road users.

Question posed by Councillor Nicolas Back

Will the results of the study conducted by Gehlen be published, or will they be kept secret, as was the case for the pedestrian crossings?

Response provided by Alderman Patrick Goldschmidt

I'm not sure whether I should respond to your insinuations. The engineering firm has begun the work it was tasked with, and when the results are known, we will, of course, disclose them to the Municipal Council. What matters to us is the safety of road users, and we have nothing to hide.

Response provided by Mayor Lydie Polfer

When using the road, everyone should remain aware of other users. Cyclists are more at risk than vehicles, and pedestrians are more at risk than cyclists. That said, I would like to remind you that cycling in pedestrian zones is prohibited between 10:00 and 18:00. But every day we can see that this is ignored. I myself have approached the police on this matter. We can only be thankful that there are not more accidents between cyclists and pedestrians.

Urgent question posed by Councillor Christa Brömmel

The building that used to house the elementary school in Gasperich is currently closed due to asbestos removal works.

• When and where in the building was asbestos discovered? How serious is the contamination?
• How is the asbestos being removed, and when will the works be completed?
• Can we rule out the possibility that pupils and staff were exposed to health risks in the past?
• Have the parents whose children attended classes in the old building been notified? If not, why not?
• Has the College of Aldermen assessed the risk of exposure to asbestos in other school buildings? If so, what were its conclusions? If not, why not?

Response provided by Mayor Lydie Polfer

In 2012, the College of Aldermen commissioned an audit of all school buildings in Luxembourg City, with a view to determining whether asbestos was present. During the audit, asbestos was found in the attic and basement of the elementary school in Gasperich. The areas concerned were immediately closed off, and warning tape signalling the presence of asbestos was put up. It is a well-known fact that asbestos is not dangerous unless you come into contact with it, or unless it is airborne.

Since the audit in 2012, asbestos-removal work has been carried out by specialist companies in 16 buildings. The work was carried out during the school holidays, under the supervision of the ITM (Luxembourg Labour and Mines Inspectorate), under the most stringent safety conditions possible. Air quality was constantly monitored. The works at the school in Gasperich had been scheduled to be completed in time for the start of the 2024–2025 school year, but there has been a slight delay. Everything should be completed in one week, by 7 October 2024. Our children's health and well-being is one of the most important issues that we are committed to.