Every day, the same hassle: long minutes stuck in traffic jams, journey times that keep getting longer, exasperation … This will not have escaped anyone, at least not motorists: the city of Lyon no never seemed so bottled up. Is it a simple impression? The different periods of confinement, lived for 18 months, would they have ended up blurring the memory of each? The statistics, that 20 minutes obtained from the TomTom organization, leave no room for doubt: the congestion rate is indeed up sharply compared to 2019.
“We had already noticed a resumption of traffic after the third deconfinement. In June, the congestion rate was already higher than the averages recorded two years earlier, at the same period, but since the start of the school year (the week of August 30), there has been a sharp increase in traffic jams ”, notes Vincent Martinier, director marketing from TomTom.
97% congestion rate on the morning of September 6
An example: On September 6, the congestion rate was 52% for the whole day against 37% in 2019. The next day, the statistics indicated an average of 47% against 38%, two years earlier. But it is in the details that the figures are most revealing.
On August 30, the traffic jam rate was 80% at 5 pm instead of 54% “usually”. The next day, at the same time, it was 90%, against 63% two years earlier. And this beginning of the week, the figures have even become dizzying: 95% recorded on September 6 at 8 a.m. then 97% at 9 a.m., instead of 71%. The next day, we found on the same time slot, 92% of traffic jams. That is 27% more than in 2019 …
“Travel times can be doubled”, analyzes Vincent Martinier. A Lyon exception? “The trend is the same in the other big cities of France, in particular in Paris and Marseille, where we record congestion levels higher than 2019. But, we are not on the same extremes as in Lyon”, he replies. The data, collected between Rhône and Saône, intrigued observers. “In Lyon, the difference between 2019 and 2021 is much greater than elsewhere,” continues Vincent Martinier. In addition, the traffic remains dense and sustained throughout the day, once past the morning and evening peaks. “
Can construction sites explain everything?
It remains to be seen whether this is an epiphenomenon or an underlying trend. And what are the causes? “The months of September and October are traditionally very busy”, indicates Pierre Soulard, head of the urban mobility service within the road management of the metropolis of Lyon, aware that the problem is not just a matter of calendar.
The various sites and works, undertaken in recent weeks to create bus lanes or cycle paths, are often singled out on social networks as being partly responsible for the situation. The narrowing of certain traffic lanes, ascent of Choulans or along the Gailleton quays for example, also.
A resumption of individual modes of travel
“These developments may temporarily contribute to creating traffic jams, but throughout the Lyon metropolitan area, only around thirty kilometers of roads out of 3,600 have been removed. Can this weigh so much on the indicators? Sure, a little. However, this is not the only explanation. We can clearly see that there is no work on the motorways around Lyon and they are just as saturated, ”answers Pierre Soulard. And to add: “There are other factors, starting with a resumption of individual trips to the detriment of shared modes such as public transport, which have suffered from the crisis. Car use is on the rise. That of the bicycle too [+56 % par rapport à 2019]. Do people want to protect themselves from possible contamination? We can assume that. “
The new work habits have also visibly brought about a change in traffic. “We see that the peaks of traffic jams have a much wider amplitude. At 4 p.m., we’re already in traffic jams. At 10 am, traffic is still heavy. We move around at any time of the day, “underlines Vincent Martinier.” Finally, we have observed an increase in the number of accidents and incidents since the deconfinement: more aggressive behavior at the wheel which generates accidents and by extension, traffic jam. And that worries us, ”concludes Pierre Soulard.