As part of the "Vëlosummer 2020" campaign, cyclists have been encouraged to make use of roads across the country which have been closed to other traffic. The aim was to offer those on two wheels the chance to discover different areas while exploring Luxembourg's scenic countryside. However, a number of municipalities have opted not to participate in the project.
Syvicol president Emile Eicher said there needed to be serious discussions with the municipalities that have refused to take part, to see what could be done to enable them to participate. He suggested reducing the timeframe from a full month as an example.
Eicher explained the reasons for the lack of participation varied from council to council. The majority feared closing important traffic routes for a whole month, which Eicher countered with the suggestion of closing the roads at weekends only, as some towns have opted to do for busy roads.
The Mullerthal region, for example, has a number of roadworks and deviations currently in place. Berdorf mayor Joe Nilles, one of the councils which opted out of the cycling campaign, explained the timing had not been optimal for many municipalities in the area. He said the government were still looking at an out-of-date image of Mullerthal rather than taking current construction work into account.
Nilles also expressed concerns over the number of commercial businesses attempting to revive themselves after lockdown, and stated closing major thoroughfares could affect footfall in shops. However, he did not rule out future cycling campaigns once the roadworks had been completed.
The Grand Duchy currently has over 1,000 kilometres of cycle paths. Video report in Luxembourgish
