The P+R Bouillon, pictured, has 2,450 parking spaces but is often full on weekdays Delano

The P+R Bouillon, pictured, has 2,450 parking spaces but is often full on weekdays Delano

An investigation by Delano found that the P+R Bouillon (Merl) and P+R Sud (Howald) were at full capacity on five mornings when checked via the VDL live tracker at 9am on 13 days in March 2018. And the situation was worse at Kockelscheuer where the car park reached full capacity on seven weekday mornings.

“The city authority has noticed that the P+R Bouillon fills up early in the day,” a City of Luxembourg spokesperson told Delano. To remedy the situation, she said that in 2013 a fee was introduced to people leaving their car there for over 25 hours, to prevent people using the space as a long-term car park. A similar fee was introduced at the P+R Sud and Kockelscheuer in 2017. But, clearly it is not enough to respond to a growing demand for affordable parking in the south of the capital where a sizeable chunk of commuter traffic arrives.

3,800 park spaces

The three car parks provide over 3,800 combined parking spaces, of which 830 are at P+R Sud, 2,450 at Bouillon and 562 at Kockelscheuer. The number of spaces on the southern belt of the capital will, however, increase by 69% (equivalent to 2,621 spaces) in the coming years. Luxembourg's highways agency told Delano on Tuesday that the extension of the P+R Sud, generating a further 621 spaces, will bring the total spaces on the site to 1,451. Of this number, 50 spaces will be reserved for electric vehicles. Motorists should be able to take advantage of the expansion this year as completion is expected before the summer.

Stadium car park

But, the project that is expected to ease demand most will be the P+R planned next to the new stadium in Cloche d’Or. Expected to open its doors in October 2019, the car park will have 2,000 parking spaces.

According to the Luxembourg City authority spokesperson, the details are still being thrashed out, though it has been reported in the past that it could be used during concerts and sporting events at the stadium. How, the authority will manage this use alongside the needs of weekday commuter traffic, remains to be seen.

Traffic management is an ongoing priority in Luxembourg, where around 180,000 cross-border works come to the country daily and 240,000 Luxembourg residents drive to and from work.

Follow Jess Bauldry on Twitter. Want to get Delano’s daily newsletter? Sign up here. Alternatively, check out the latest edition of our magazine.