We just stop for a kiss, “and shoo”! In front of the Mondetour school, in Orsay in Essonne, parents no longer need to get their children out of the car. Since the start of the school year, the town hall has been using municipal agents to help primary school students reach the school entrance safely. Every morning, between 8.20 am and 8.30 am, an “active drop-off” zone, supervised by two agents, is set up for parents who bring their children to school by car. “After the vehicle stops, a municipal agent opens the door of the child who leaves without the help of the parent, explains the town hall, about his device a “Bise et zou”. The child is taken care of until school and the parent can leave with peace of mind. »
Inspired by what is done in the United States, the device prevents parents from parking too long in front of the school, and makes traffic flow more fluid. “For several years, we have had a saturation problem near the Mondetour school,” says Frédéric Henriot, deputy mayor of Orsay in charge of local services. When dropping off the children, parents park in double, triple or even quadruple rows and completely block off the area. »
About fifty cars pass in front of the school
The habit of parents who “drop” their children in front of the school at the last moment “annoyed” the town hall of the City in particular. “This creates traffic difficulties but also security problems for children, who are dropped off anywhere,” said the deputy mayor of Orsay. So we had the idea of offering a drop-off point in front of the school. In ten minutes of “active drop-off”, around fifty cars parade in front of the primary school. “Before, we had fifty cars restarting at the same time, now they are leaving in dribs and drabs,” he says.
“It’s a method of dropping off students that corresponds to an expectation on the part of certain families,” says the director of the establishment Yann Denimal, who welcomes the device. This allows them to save time on their professional journey. “The effectiveness of the system nevertheless remains difficult to assess, “the number of children and families concerned [étant] still in the minority”, even if “for those who use it, the feedback is very positive. »
First reviews of the device
“Parents who wish can, of course, drop off their children on a cargo bike and not use their car,” he jokes, in response to the first criticisms of the device on social networks. Some advocates of the use of bicycles decry a device that would “once again promote the car”. A will which the deputy defends. “On the contrary, at the energy level, it reduces the emissions emitted by the engines which were running in traffic jams”, he believes.
The City of Orsay does not therefore give up deploying its system in the city. Frédéric Henriot indicates that he wants to set it up in front of other schools, “at least in front of another, where we encounter the same traffic problem”, he specifies. The first tests of the “Bise et zou” device should take place in front of the Guichet primary school by the end of the year.