Lausanne: fewer parking spaces for motorcycles in the city center

Until now, this was a diffuse feeling among motorcycle or scooter riders traveling in Lausanne: parking spaces seemed increasingly rare. Today it is a certainty. In the light of a municipal response to the question from municipal councilor Anouck Saugy (PLR), entitled “Two wheels, between us”, the City reveals the extent of the reduction: almost 10% in ten years.

“Electric scooter or not, Lausanne, queen of road redevelopments, has removed an unprecedented number of two-wheeler parking spaces on its territory in recent years, in particular in favor of spaces for bicycles that are more or less empty depending on the neighborhood. », Underlines the elected official. Indeed, it is now clear that these places are taken by storm, and that they are too often overflowing with vehicles parked outside the paving stones allocated to them. The fine is never far away.

Mainly downtown

According to the City, the elimination of parking spaces for motorized two-wheelers (2WD) mainly concerns the city center sector since it accommodates a quarter of the total supply, and this is due to the numerous requalifications of public spaces.

All neighborhoods are affected. The start of work on the station thus contributed to the elimination of motorcycle parking spaces, partially compensated in the sub-station area. “Conversely, the supply remained stable, or even increased, in sectors experiencing less pressure on the use of public space, such as Boissonnet – Praz-Séchaud or Montoie,” assures the City.

Within the limits of available space, the City would seek to compensate for these eliminated spaces nearby. “The weighing of interests with the requalification of public spaces and the promotion of more climate-friendly modes of travel means that these compensations are not always possible,” admits the Municipality. The latter, however, says it is open to specific requests from the population, creating new places as was the case at Maupas or la Vigie.

What do the numbers say exactly? In 2014, Lausanne offered 6,424 parking spaces for 2WD vehicles. In 2023, there were 5,836, a decrease of 9.2%. The reasons given are in particular the creation of the three new pedestrian zones of the Cité (-49 places), Pré-du-Marché (-42 places) and the Place des Pionnières (-73 places) which have affected the supply in parking for 164 spaces.

The solution: take up cycling

To find a place for their two-wheelers in the future, will motorcyclists and scooter riders have to take up cycling? In any case, the Municipality is proud of having greatly developed the bicycle parking offer. Between 2015 and 2023, it increased from 1668 to 6488 places, an increase of 4820 places. Almost 300%. “This compensates, for some of the users who have now chosen to travel by bicycle, the reduction in the offer for 2WD vehicles. With the electrification of the bicycle fleet, it is likely that a proportion of motorcycle or scooter users have been able to find a compensatory mode of transport with an electric bicycle.

Remember that in the space of ten years, the number of parking spaces for cars has also decreased by 10%, or 2,500 fewer spaces on public property.

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Laurent Antonoff has been a journalist in the Vaud section since 1990. After covering the regions of Northern Vaud and the Riviera, he joined the Lausanne editorial team at the turn of the millennium. A novelist in his spare time, he won the Berner Zeitung Local Journalism Prize in 1998.More info

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