Will cyclists and scooter riders soon have to dismount when they cross the historic center of Toulouse? Richard Mébaoudj, president of 60 million pedestrians 31 ardently desires it. He is tired of “seeing cyclists tumbling at excessive and sometimes crazy speeds”, fed up of “making room for them on the sidewalks”, and is simply asking for a ban on cycles, but also hoverboards or scooters in certain areas. areas of the city.
“We’re actually stopping people from walking to work!” I am happy that we are gradually moving away from all cars but we should not replace it with all bikes,” fumes this resident of the city center who, however, understands that the ban could include time slots.
For the walker defender, there is a double window of fire. Firstly because the town hall is in the process of developing its “ Street code » to allow better coexistence between modes of travel. Then, because other cities like Niort, Nice in the summer, or even closer, Agen have taken the step of blocking certain streets from bicycles.
“No position of principle” within the walls of the Capitol
He is also not the only one to worry about the boom in cycles and the danger they can represent for pedestrians. “This conflict of use comes up quite recurrently in the contributions to the Street Code,” recognizes Maxime Boyer, the deputy in charge of Mobility. A resident who took part in the questionnaire took the trouble to stand on a dyke of the Garonne, on the right bank, one of the dangerous passages in the crosshairs of 60 million pedestrians 31 for the speed of the “cycle commuters”. It counted 465 bicycles and 45 pedestrians between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. and 300 bicycles for 53 pedestrians during the evening rush hour. Richard Mébaoudj also points out the banks of the Canal du Midi, the Matabiau station square but also and above all the historic center and the problematic rue Alsace-Lorraine.
SO ? Will the town hall grant the insistent request of pedestrians? “We will study this proposal like all the others,” replies Maxime Boyer diplomatically, “we do not have a position of principle at this stage.” “There is rarely one magic solution,” adds the elected official, but rather a multiplicity of solutions that can be complementary.” The Street Code should be unveiled “early 2024”.
“It’s the space of the car that must be reduced”
And until then, other voices will come to the rescue, if not that of the not really united scooter riders, at least that of the bicycles. “The fight of 60 million pedestrians is a bad fight, judges Boris Koslow, the president of the powerful association 2 feet 2 wheels. If cyclists are banned from banks or dykes, or have to use routes where they do not feel safe, they will return to their car to go to work. »
“To avoid conflicts, it is the space of the car that must be reduced”, advocate the followers of the little queen who want in particular the creation of tracks at the foot of the dikes or the rapid doubling of the greenways of the Channel. And if they recognize that an “educational effort” must be made within their ranks to spare pedestrians, they would like them to put as much energy into defending other causes. “By asking for the removal of green posts from sidewalks or forcing people to bring in their containers, for example,” quotes Boris Koslow.