Bertrange is located on the outskirts of the capital and wants to preserve its friendly character. Despite significant population growth, the municipality is afraid of extensive urbanisation. By developing an original shared space in its centre, the entity wants to maintain the "village" spirit. The creation of this area dedicated primarily to pedestrians, with easy access to local shops, is currently underway. This is one of the many projects undertaken by the municipality.

Bertrange is one of the entities located in the direct extension of the city of Luxembourg, like Strassen, Hesperange and Leudelange. Except for the road signs at the entrances to each of these entities, it is difficult to know where one ends and the other begins. "We are now the suburbs of the capital," comments Frank Colabianchi, mayor of Bertrange. "Our priority, given this situation, is to preserve the village character of our entity, to maintain local commerce, with a small butcher's shop, a bakery, a bookshop, a bistro, a doctor, a pharmacy, and to maintain a real social life at the heart of the company.

Attractiveness and growth

Bertrange must therefore fight against urbanisation. Being close to the capital, the town is particularly attractive. Its population has just passed the 7,000 mark. Demand is high. Property developers are on the lookout for available land, ready to develop new housing. There is no shortage of projects. This is why the mayor says that, "in five years, without exaggerating, we will be approaching the 8,000 inhabitant mark".

Hundreds of housing units, housing estates, single-family homes and flats will therefore soon be created near the centre of Bertrange. "There is still room in the perimeter. There is still room to develop a lot of housing before we think about expanding the area," explains Frank Colabianchi. While supply is increasing, demand is such that prices are still rising significantly. And while the municipality has been able to develop social housing in recent years, it is powerless to prevent property prices from rising.

A shared and friendly space

The increase in population has no impact on the life of the village. It is against the increase in traffic in the centre that the municipal authorities have been fighting for several years. "The increase in population and the attractiveness of Luxembourg bring additional traffic and force us to manage development," explains the mayor. "We prefer to take a forward-looking approach to the management of these projects.

Among the priority projects carried out by the municipality, the creation of a shared space, a convivial meeting area in the heart of the village, is without doubt the most important. "This innovative project aims to guarantee a good quality of life. It is currently the subject of a major construction project in the centre of the village," continues Frank Colabianchi.

The "meeting zone" will be the heart of the entity. As its name suggests, it will allow a wide variety of users to meet in the same space with a balance of functions: housing, shops, leisure activities, administrations, schools, etc. Pedestrians will have priority in this zone. At present, the population of Bertrange is mainly made up of non-Luxembourgers. 51% of the resident population is of foreign origin, with many French, Portuguese, Italians, Germans and Belgians. "There are some 80 different nationalities in the entity," explains the mayor.

Although this new city centre will be accessible to motorists, the absence of pavements and the urban design of the public space will lead to a new form of cohabitation between the various users, pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. The latter will have no choice but to behave carefully.

In addition, the speed limit will be 20 km/h. This zone is therefore part of the mobility plan desired by the authorities, who want to ease traffic in the heart of the city. "The mayor comments: "Traffic safety is achieved through a progressive speed limit. "The approach to the centre of the town will be accompanied by a speed limit starting at 50 km/h, passing through 30 km/h and arriving in the 20 km/h restricted zone. The aim is to get 'passing' traffic to use the village bypass. "Our bypass is the only one in the Grand Duchy to have been developed entirely from municipal funds," explains the mayor.

With schools, leisure facilities, administration and shops spread around this space, the meeting zone will not lack life, all year round. The various phases of the project include the enlargement of the car park behind the police station, the creation of a park in the centre of the town and the renaturation of the "Pétrusse" stream. The public square will be significantly extended. The "beim Schlass" square will be integrated into the project.

New school

The municipality has other projects. Integrated into the shared space, the Cubus project is a "gastronomic" building in the shape of a pavilion, with a terrace facing the park. It will have an open kitchen and will be able to accommodate about 60 people.

The growing population also requires the adaptation of the school and leisure facilities. The municipal authorities have planned the demolition and reconstruction of the "beim Schlass" school. "Based on population forecasts, the expected number of primary school pupils and the condition of the existing school building, we decided to build a new school building on the same site," explains Frank Colabianchi. "The new school will be able to accommodate 450 pupils. Future expansion possibilities are planned.

This project will be carried out in several phases. In order to allow for the destruction, it will be necessary to develop modular constructions, a temporary building to accommodate the pupils of cycle 4 during the works. These modules will remain in place and, once the school is operational, will be used for adult education.

After the realisation of the project for the new school "beim Schlass", the school "bei der Gemeng" will be transformed into a "Maison Relais" with an integrated administrative structure, due to the additional needs identified.

In view of the needs of the "Beiestack" halfway house, a substantial extension is planned. The extension includes three additional rooms, changing rooms and staff rooms. The kitchen will be adapted to the new capacity.

A cultural and sports centre for 1,500 people

In terms of leisure facilities, the municipality of Bertrange has a high-quality cultural and sports centre. The Atert Centre was built in 1985/86 with a sports hall for up to 300 spectators, a festival hall and a training pool. Due to the increasing demand, the centre has reached its capacity limits in recent years. Given the number of spectators regularly attending the various events, the current and future needs of the schools, as well as the growing popularity of the basketball club, an extension of the hall was unavoidable as of 2006/07.

Inspired by the architecture of the existing building, the roof of the extension follows the same alignment and allows a homogeneous integration into the overall project. The sports hall now has telescopic stands and fixed stands for 1,500 spectators placed around the central courtyard. The multi-sport hall is designed for basketball, handball and volleyball and is complemented by a separate weights room.

The surroundings of the Atert Centre have been developed in such a way that the centre is an integral part of the shared space project in the centre.

Despite the development of the village, Bertrange has managed to preserve its endearing character. This is a tour de force, in which the population has been actively involved, a remarkable fact that deserves to be praised.

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