Lausanne at dusk, viewed from Lake Geneva: growing number of foreigners live in the city, its suburbs
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Geneva, with its international organizations and United Nations European seat is not likely to lose its reputation as Switzerland’s international city, but Lausanne has been creeping up on it as an international centre. From 2008 to 2010 the resident foreigners’ share of the total population in the capital of Vaud was higher than that in Geneva, and growing faster.
Figures published Monday 30 May by Badac, the Swiss cantons and cities database, show that Lausanne has had a larger percentage of foreigners than Geneva in recent years, although the two are close: Lausanne’s population in 2010 was 39.24 percent foreigners while Geneva’s was 38.58 percent, but while the increase in the foreign population in Geneva was .95 percent, Lausanne’s was 1.22 percent.
The figures take into account only the cities themselves, not their larger urban areas. Geneva’s population in 2010 was 185,958 and Lausanne’s was 125,885.
Smaller cities in the Lake Geneva region, such as some suburbs of Lausanne and Geneva, have even higher percentages of foreigners, including some of the highest rates in Switzerland: Montreux, 44.33 percent foreigners, Meyrin 33.99, Carouge 36.97, Renens 50.85, Nyon 36.39, Vevey 43.38, Morges 33.17, Versoix 33.20, Grand-Saconnex 28.40, Ecublens 43.03, Chêne-Bougeries 29.68.
Spreitenbach (50.74 percent), northwest of Zurich, and Renens (50.85), west of Lausanne, have a majority of foreigners; they are the only two Swiss cities over 10,000 where resident foreigners make up more than 50 percent of the population.
Night work on A1
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch.com) – Continuing roadworks on the A1 between Morges and Ecublens, near Lausanne, will cause disruptions 25-31 July, while traffic signal systems are reinstalled.
Traffic will be reduced to one lane each direction during the nights of Sunday and Monday, with no traffic problems foreseen.
The highway will also be down to one lane each direction Monday afternoon and evening from 14:00-20:00, with delays of 10-15 minutes expected, according to the federal highway department.
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch.com) – The old A1 autoroute bottleneck around Lausanne, between Morges and Ecublens, is back for 11 days. Road repairs are reducing traffic to two lanes in each direction, limited to 80 kph, starting Monday 5 July. The roadworks are expected to cause 15-20 minute delays in either direction, according to the highway department.
Monday morning’s traffic lived up to expectations, with slow-moving traffic.
Traffic jams a thing of the past, of course
Lausanne, Switzerland (Genevalunch) – The motorway roadworks that have last several months, between Morges and Ecublens on the A1 autoroute, are nearing completion. The Federal Roads Office (Fedro) says that the third lane (bande d’arrêt d’urgence - emergency lane) will be activated after 16:00 for afternoon rush hour traffic from Monday 18 January onwards. It will be activated permanently from 25 January onwards.
A1 to be partially closed Sunday 17 January
Fedro advises that Lausanne-bound lanes will be closed between Morges and Ecublens Sunday 17 January from 20:00 to 05:00 the following morning. The Geneva-bound lanes will be closed on the same stretch from 23:00 to 05:00.
Winter evening autoroute traffic near Morges (Etoy)
Morges, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The electronic signs that warn drivers of slowdowns and accidents on Lake Geneva autoroutes, as well as the Internet service that provides these alerts, are no longer in service, as of Tuesday 1 December. The system has been dismantled to make way for a new real-time system that is part of the widening to six lanes of the Morges-Ecublens stretch on the A1 autoroute near Lausanne. The old system, set up to help drivers during the construction phase that often saw the road reduced to two lanes, will be dismantled 1-4 December to allow tests to be run on the new system for the next six weeks.
The automatic signaling system to alert drivers they may use the extra lanes will be put into operation in the second half of January 2010.
Morges, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Morges Est on ramp in the Lausanne direction (ave de Paquis) will be closed from Saturday 3 October at 21:00 till Monday 5 October at 05:00, the Swiss Federal Roads Office announced, due to the ongoing roadworks on the A1 autoroute between Morges and Ecublens.
Autoroute A1, soon to become a six-laner
Image: Swiss highway department
Morges, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The final stage of the the roadworks on the A1 autoroute between Morges and Ecublens begins early October when workers put in place a new electronic road signage system, to be completed in December 2009. The Swiss Federal Roads Office (Fedro) announced 30 September that the roadworks will require them to close the autoroute at night at times. It involves adding traffic density sensors that will determine when a third lane in each direction should open. Details of the closures will be given ahead of time.
The current 10-35 minute delays between Aubonne and Lausanne (direction: Lausanne) are expected to drop to 5-20 minutes for the last three months of the year, matching the delays heading in the other direction.
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Ongoing roadworks on the A9 between Vennes and Villeneuve will slow down traffic between 9:00 and 16:00 every day, but two lanes will be open during rush hours. The Fedro, Federal Roads Office, has a site dedicated to these roadworks. Roadworks between Morges and Ecublens to build a third lane in the emergency lane are also ongoing.
Intercity trains between Olten and Basel (Ger) will not run some nights after 21:30 from 31 August to 30 October, the CFF announced 26 August, due to a refurbishment of the tracks. Alternatives are the Interregional trains and the S-3 light rail train. And for commuters in Lausanne the stretch between Lausanne and La Conversion will be shut down completely from 4 September at 20:30 to 7 September at 05:30, says the CFF.
Median strip and emergency bands on the A1 near Morges are being removed to widen the road to six lanes
Morges, Vaud, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The roadworks to enlarge the A1 autoroute between Morges and Lausanne are on schedule, with no major incidents to report during the major holiday departures at the start of July, says the Swiss Highways Office in its latest update on the project’s progress.
The work to build three emergency stops areas on the Jura side of the road (direction: Lausanne-Geneva) will be completed by August, and cables have now been laid for the automatic traffic data and alerts.
Morges, Vaud, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The A1 autoroute was completely closed to traffic between Tuesday night 2 June from 20:30 and 05:30 Wednesday morning, in both directions between Morges-Ouest and Ecublens. The highly unusual move by the federal roads department was made to allow the second of phase of work to begin. The project to enlarge the highway from four to six lanes began in early May and will last until December 2010.
The second phase, in June and July, will rebuild the Jura side of the road, Lausanne-Geneva direction. The work involves:
There was less traffic back when this Geneva license plate was issued
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Drivers on the A9 stretch between Lausanne-Vennes and Villeneuve, the main route into the Valais, can expect delays for four months starting 15 June as urgent repairs are made to joints in several places. The road will be reduced to one lane in each direction, starting on the lake side of the road in June and on the other side in August. Two lanes but with slower speeds will be open during peak traffic hours. This stretch of autoroute has long been scheduled for major renovation from 2014-2017 due to general deterioration, and in November 2008 it was briefly closed for emergency repairs.
The new roadworks will further increase travel time in the Lausanne region, with speed limits reduced to 80kph between Morges and Ecublens due to major construction from May to December 2009.
Ecublens, Vaud, Switzerland (20 Minutes, Fre) – A 42-year-old man who lives in the area was killed after he was thrown from his car when it was hit by another one, in the early hours of Wednesday. The accident took place on the Pont bleu road in Ecublens. A 30-year-old driver entering the main road from a side road failed to give the right of way. The road was closed for several hours.
Updated 14 January 08:45 Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - One of Switzerland’s most heavily traveled road sections, between Morges and Ecublens in Vaud, will get some relief starting in 2010, the federal government said Tuesday afternoon: drivers in both directions will be allowed to use the emergency lane under a project that will be evaluated at the end of a year to see if it reduces the number of accidents and keeps traffic flowing more smoothly.
