Bicycles almost everywhere and only a few electric scooters. In Strasbourg, the preferred mode of transport for users of two wheels has not changed in recent years. Most continue to pedal!
One of the reasons for this is simple: it is not possible to find a self-service scooter. Well, yes, 40 in total. “And we will not go beyond that”, promises the municipal councilor responsible for the cycling and walkable city, Sophie Dupressoir. All are accessible in 24 dedicated stations, often car parks, and they must be replaced there after use. Here, no free-floating! The environmentalist majority of Jeanne Barseghian opposes the arrival of specialized market operators, like that of Roland Ries before.
“They contacted us a lot, but we don’t want this service on our public domain”, continues the elected official. “We have such a well-connected city with a very good public transport network and a wide range of cycle paths that we do not consider it necessary. In addition, studies have shown that scooter users are often walkers or cyclists. We want a modal transfer where you get out of your car. Rather, we want to encourage low-carbon activities. »
That’s good, other street users are not very favorable to a massive arrival of scooters either. “They are quite inconvenient for pedestrians and we are very happy that there are fewer of them here than elsewhere”, explains Gilles Huguet, the president of Piétons 67. He would already like the current ones to run only on cycle paths or the pavement. Not enough to delight Fabien Masson, the director of CADR 67, an association for the promotion of cycling…
“It adds obstacles”
“Using free-floating adds obstacles. Already we have little space in the public space, we don’t need more scooters to have additional cohabitation concerns, “he says, without, either, stigmatizing the followers of these new cars. “The relationship is good when all the users respect each other. Afterwards, self-service is often used by people on vacation and they pay little attention…”
“This free-floating service is not currently a priority for setting up in our public space. We prefer to leave room for other projects, concludes Sophie Dupressoir. But we do not completely close the door. The operators have already made progress, perhaps one day they will be able to regulate and better supervise their machines. So Strasbourg will “look”…