Meeting of the municipal council of 19 November 2018

Question by Tom Krieps

In accordance with the City's rules of procedure, I would like to ask you a question regarding a recent statement by Minister of Justice Felix Braz.
In responding to a question by MP Max Hahn, Minister Braz referred to the Law of 12 July 2014, which allows for marriage ceremonies to be regularly performed outside the usual locations, such as the town hall.

It seems to me that there is nothing in our city's regulations that provides for this type of ceremonial tourism. Hence my question:

• What is the City of Luxembourg's policy regarding requests to hold marriage ceremonies outside of its city hall?
• And if this an option, are there any locations that the City has designated for this purpose?

Response by Lydie Polfer

The mayor pointed out that Article 75 of the Luxembourg Civil Code, as amended by the Law of 4 July 2014, clearly designates the city hall as the place where marriage ceremonies should be held, stipulating that on the date specified by the parties, after the notice period under the banns of marriage, the civil registrar shall, at the city hall, read out to the parties the aforementioned documents regarding their civil status and the marriage formalities. In addition, Article 22 of the Municipal Law of 13 December 1988 stipulates that the municipal council shall meet at the city hall or at another location to be designated by the municipal council, subject to the approval of the Minister of the Interior. This provision allows for the designation of another location, subject to compliance with the procedure for doing so as provided for in the aforementioned municipal law. After deliberation, the municipal council has already designated an additional adjoining room to the city hall as a venue for marriage ceremonies, on the grounds that this room is an integral part of the city hall.

Although there are exceptional cases when the civil registrar is required to perform a marriage ceremony outside City Hall – such as in a prison or medical clinic – these are exceptions, which are subject to compliance with a specific procedure. However, it is possible that the legal framework may change in the coming years. Nevertheless, in practice, allowing marriage ceremonies to be performed outside the city hall could complicate the work of the civil registrars and municipal workers, and it would also be difficult to establish criteria setting restrictions on requests by couples who may wish to get married outside of City Hall.

Question by François Benoy

I am contacting you about the small, six-space car park located in the middle of Rue Henri Vannérus in Luxembourg-Bonnevoie, near the Pinocchio childcare centre. Neighbours have reported that three abandoned cars are parked in this car park.
To seek a solution to the problem, I informed our departments of the situation in May. It turns out that the car park is a municipal property that, however, is not regulated and therefore is not monitored by our employees. Neither the Service Circulation (Traffic Department) nor the Service Parking (Parking Department) seems to have the authority to follow up on these issues.
As such, I would like to put the following questions to the college of aldermen:

• Can you confirm that these parking spaces, which are on a municipal property and accessible to the public, are not regulated?
• Don't you think it would be necessary to regulate this car park and subsequently have our staff monitor it?
• Could you please take whatever steps are necessary to have the abandoned cars removed?

Response by Patrick Goldschmidt

Alderman Goldschmidt confirmed that the parking spaces on Rue Henri Vannérus are located on a municipal property that is not regulated. In the absence of regulations, municipal enforcement staff have not taken action.
A decision has been taken to regulate this property so users can park there, either by using a parking disc or by buying a parking ticket, which would ensure that the parking spaces are not permanently occupied.
The police have been informed about the three abandoned vehicles in the car park so they can proceed with their removal.
Lastly, it is likely that the lack of regulations stems from the fact that the car park is located next to a childcare centre and a school, and so users could park there without a parking ticket or disc.

Question by Sam Tanson

According to a news article published today, the new vel'OH! self-service electric bikes will not be ready for Mobility Week; their installation, which has originally been scheduled for June, has already been postponed. We believe it is important to bring the problems at hand to the attention of the members of the municipal council inasmuch as this is a major contract for the city. As such, I would like to put the following questions to the college of aldermen:

• What are the reasons for this postponement?
• What are the legal consequences of this latest delay? Are there any penalties due, and is the college of aldermen, as is mentioned in the article, considering cancelling the contract?
• If the contract continues, what is the deadline for installing and commissioning all of the new stations?
• Will an Urban Mobility Committee meeting be called promptly to inform the municipal councillors about the problems at hand?

Response by Patrick Goldschmidt

Alderman Goldschmidt responded that the new vel'OH! self-service bike system is expected to be up and running on 30 November 2018.

At a meeting in April, the Urban Mobility Committee voted in favour of implementing the new bike rental system. The committee has not met to discuss the delay on the part of the supplier, JCDecaux, because a choice was made to convey the information through the media, which puts pressure on the college of aldermen to follow up the matter.
Although committees are not systematically convened to discuss every news item that is published, the Urban Mobility Committee met again recently and the issue of the delay in implementing the new self-service bike system was on the agenda.

The tender specifications stipulate that the new system was supposed to be ready for this summer. In spring 2018, JCDecaux informed the college of aldermen that delivery would be delayed due to a delay on the part of their battery supplier. Then on 30 August 2018, JCDecaux informed the college of alderman that the system would not be ready in time for Mobility Week, but did not provide a new projected delivery date. This second delay is due to technical issues JCDecaux needed to resolve with regard to components of the new system – the first of its kind to be implemented in Europe – which did not operate as expected during tests. Around the beginning of November 2018, the college of aldermen was informed that the new commissioning date was 30 November 2018.
Lastly, the tender specifications stipulate the payment of late fees, and the City's legal affairs department has been tasked with claiming the penalties in accordance with the contractual clauses.

Question by Maurice Bauer

An article in today's Paperjam mentions an announcement by a company called Troty that it will be introducing, in Luxembourg City, self-service e-scooters that do not go faster than 25 km/h. The article also reported that a trial is currently being conducted with five scooters. With this in mind, I would like to ask the college of aldermen the following urgent question:

• Is the college of aldermen aware of this initiative? Has any contact been made with the contractor to "find the best solutions", as the article reports?
• Has the City issued or must the City issue permits for such an initiative?
• What is the legal framework for e-scooters in Luxembourg City? Can/must they be used on the road network? Are they allowed in bicycle lanes or on the pavement?
• The City's approach has always been to avoid self-service bikes without bike stations to spare itself the unfortunate experiences of other cities. Has this approach changed?

Response by Patrick Goldschmidt

Alderman Goldschmidt said that Troty is a commercial company – that is, a private entity – that is active in other cities.
Troty has decided to set up operations in Luxembourg City. In October 2018, Troty contacted the City to propose a collaboration – including a financial one – probably to lower the rental price for the e-scooters. The fact remains that the City is not a partner in this undertaking. He also stated that it nonetheless appears that Troty e-scooters are currently being used, but that the City is not very enthusiastic about the concept because 1) the Troty scooters are attached to lighting poles, and 2) the City already has two services for getting around (vel'OH! and CARLOH), whose subscription fees are much lower than the scooter rental price.

As for permits, the legal framework is not clear at the national level. The City has requested that regulations be established as soon as possible since modes of transport similar to e-scooters are cropping up more and more in Luxembourg City. However, we will need to see how the laws change before we can take action.