“No one drives through this piece of street, so you might as well make it an esplanade with terraces”. Gilles, a 30-year-old fan of nightlife in downtown Toulouse, talks about part of the rue des Trois-Journées, near Wilson. He has taken to his habits on the large terraces of bars and restaurants, these extensions authorized since the end of the first confinement to allow professionals to recover their health.
To date, according to the town hall, 422 establishments still benefit from this special regime, braving the frosts of winter. Their authorization is valid until March 31. But the question of the sustainability of the terraces is already on the table. Capitol organizes on February 17 a consultation meeting between residents and professionals, the title of which clearly indicates that the provisional will become final.
“Too many terraces harms the pleasure of circulating”
And the prospect has the gift of confusing residents and users. “We are moving towards lifting health restrictions, there is no reason why it should not be accompanied by a return to normality in public space”, estimates Richard Mébaoudj, the president of the association 60 million pedestrians 31 for whom “too many terraces harms the pleasure of walking around”.
The association Bien vivre Toulouse center (BVTC) is on the same line. Pointing to “the unbearable noise pollution from the morning deliveries of drinks to the night closings” and “the permanent unpleasant smells of tobacco and cooking”, she opposes “the transformation of the city center into a gigantic open-air terrace”. .
Nuisance studies
So will all the XXL terraces be renewed despite everything? Christophe Alves, the elected official in charge of the public domain, recalls that a study is underway on three criteria: heritage protection, accessibility and traffic issues, and noise pollution. “A return will be made internally during the first half of March for arbitration before the deadline of March 31,” he said.
And on this point, Olivier Bouscatel, of the national group of independent hotels and restaurants (GNI), is not worried. “You cannot stigmatize an entire profession for three or four sticking points. Since most places are not a problem, there is no reason for the terraces not to be renewed, ”said the restaurateur. Contrary to the rebellious associations, he ensures that lots of residents of the city center feel reassured by the presence of the terraces late at night.
Questions for Place du Capitole
The place du Capitole will probably make hard points of the imminent discussions. Even Gilles, our night owl, finds it abnormal that the terrace extensions force pedestrians to walk on the road. “A few benches placed around the perimeter of the square would be enough to meet the need for conviviality”, says Richard Mébaoudj. Olivier Bouscatel, directly concerned, has another idea: “the place is large, it would be enough to move back the terraces of 1.50 or 2 m to leave a pedestrian strip”, he reflects.
One thing is certain, on the terraces that will continue on March 31, customers will have to wait for the spring mildness in a down jacket. On this date, outdoor heaters will be banned. Olivier Bouscatel may find the measure disproportionate, “at a time when we are organizing a World Cup in air-conditioned stadiums”, Toulouse will not be able to derogate from the Climate Law.