Does building more roads reduce traffic in Luxembourg? The government’s presentation of its PNM 2035 national mobility plan does not establish that it does. Instead, it describes a different starting point: determine how many people need to reach a particular place, then choose the transport best suited to that context.
Presented on 22 April 2022 by François Bausch, then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Mobility and Public Works, the plan proposed an overall approach capable of handling 40% more trips than in 2017. That figure describes the demand the approach was intended to accommodate. It is not a reported reduction in congestion or a measured improvement in journey times.
The plan followed the Modu 2.0 multimodal strategy, launched in May 2018, and the introduction of free public transport in March 2020. Its stated principles included anticipating future mobility demand rather than continually catching up with it.
Another principle was shared responsibility. The government identified four participants in delivering mobility: national government, municipalities, employers and citizens. In that framework, deciding how people reach their destinations involves more than choosing infrastructure projects at national level.
This offers a useful way to examine proposals for additional roads: what journeys must a project accommodate, and why is the proposed transport solution appropriate for that location? However, the government’s account supplies no comparison of road expansion against alternatives, no quantified findings on induced demand and no before-and-after travel times.
The evidence therefore supports an account of Luxembourg’s planning approach, rather than a verdict on whether extra roads relieve traffic. Its central proposition is that transport choices should follow an assessment of people’s needs. Whether particular investments deliver that ambition requires results beyond the plan’s introductory presentation.
