And in the middle will (perhaps) flow a river. In a few days, the inhabitants of Lille registered on the electoral lists will be called upon to choose between four scenarios for the requalification of the avenue du Peuple-Belge, from the creation of a park to the complete restoration of this old canal. An unprecedented mode of expression of popular democracy which should be reproduced during future consultations with the inhabitants.
The replenishment of the avenue du Peuple-Belge, the people of Lille have heard about it since the first mandate of the mayor, Martine Aubry. Pushed back several times for budgetary reasons, here is this sea serpent which resurfaces before being perhaps completely buried by the main interested parties: the inhabitants of the city. In its logic of making Lille a peaceful city and as green as possible, the town hall has decided to “requalify” the 57,000 m2 of this large avenue in Old Lille. “It’s a space marked by all cars from the 1970s that we want to demineralize to make it a place for strolling”, explains Martine Aubry.
From the park at 25 million to the replenishment at 60 million
The premise is to drastically review mobility on this axis, to remove cars from it to make room for pedestrians and cyclists and to determine new uses for this immense area. For this, the city has developed four scenarios which will be submitted to the popular vote. The first two are more focused on greening the avenue by creating a park there and, for the second, a “water mirror”. The two other scenarios consist of a partial or total replenishment along the route of the old canal, filled in for sanitary reasons from the 1930s.
So that Lille residents can choose in an informed way, the city has detailed “pragmatically” the different scenarios. By the uses, the ecological impact and two other less funny criteria. Firstly, the duration of the construction site, estimated between 4 and 6 years, not counting the archaeological excavations in the event of replenishment. The budget then, between 25 and 60 million euros. “We promised it, there will be no increase in taxes on this mandate. We will seek subsidies from the metropolis, the region, the State or Europe. We also do not rule out having occasional recourse to borrowing,” assures Martine Aubry.
Suddenly, between May 2 and 23, Lille will have to choose. Only those registered on the electoral lists will receive a code that will allow them to vote on an online platform. “This prevents the final choice from being biased by pressure groups who would flood the platform with thousands of emails for this or that project”, hopes the mayor. It also specifies that the method should be applied during other public consultations. Martine Aubry explained that she had a weakness for total replenishment at the time. “Today, I am torn. But even if I preferred a scenario to the others, I would not tell you, ”jokes the chosen one.