For almost two years, she had “kept silent”, bruised in “ [son] grief “. But since April 23, Laure Cedat and Jessica Souchit, the mothers of Iris, 15, and Warren, 17, killed in a scooter accident in August 2022 in Lyon, can no longer remain silent. They decided to speak out to “report the dangerousness of the city’s traffic routes”. They are launching “a cry of alert” after the development of a new lane shared between bus and bicycle, on the Fulchiron quay, “exactly opposite the scene of the tragedy, even though there already exists a track at this location independent and protected cycle path”.
“We have legitimate experience of this, having lost our children on this type of path, confides to 20 minutes Laure Cedat. Mobility must be separated so that it is safe and secure. We know that this type of development actually creates ”highways” with buses that drive too fast, emergency and security vehicles and drivers. So why do this in this place when potential accidents could be avoided? To me, this is incomprehensible, incoherent and so dangerous. »
The “insufficient” response of the metropolis of Lyon
The two mothers then sent an open letter to Grégory Doucet, the mayor of Lyon, as well as to the president of the metropolis, Bruno Bernard, to “refresh their memory” and ask them to reconsider this new signage. For them, public authorities “should remember the conditions and context of this tragedy” and “not deploy roads that are accident-prone when there is no need to do so”. “Have they lost their memory and their reason? How many more deaths will it take for them to understand? The fatal accident of our children should serve as an example,” says Laure Cedat. They accompanied their mail with a online petitionsigned by more than 300 people in two days.
For its part, the metropolis claims to have “taken note” of this open letter. Regarding the request from the mothers of Iris and Warren, Fabien Bagnon, vice-president in charge of roads and active mobility, responds: “The metropolis has already put in place a temporary arrangement in order to reduce speed significantly. This system is already bearing fruit. These temporary arrangements are likely to evolve into definitive works.”
Before adding: “The safety of residents is an absolute priority of our mandate with the objective of zero serious accidents on public roads”. It also highlights the reduction in serious and fatal accidents since 2019 by 39%. An “insufficient” and “unsatisfactory” response for Laure Cedat who promises “other actions” if the public authorities “remain in this degree of deafness”.