Bike, bus, tram and RER: in Toulouse, the alternative project of associations
Several associations in Toulouse and the metropolitan area are advocating another mobility plan that gives priority to bicycles, buses, tram and RER and suspends metro and road projects.
Because the plan which provides for the major transport projects in the agglomeration has been canceled by the courts, and because there is an “emergency” in the face of atmospheric pollution, nine associations, which notably promote cycling and cycling. march, wrote a forum asking to review the broad guidelines defined by the political majority in Toulouse and metropolitan. Beyond a plea in favor of cycling, it is an alternative vision of transport that they are promoting. A vision which, in Toulouse, comes up regularly in the debate.
In summary, the alliance led by Two feet two wheels (1) recommends giving priority to all surface transport modes: the bus with reserved lanes in town and express lines on the highways, the tram, the train with the RER, the cycle and pedestrian network. And conversely, these associations demand “the suspension of the 3rd metro line” and “road projects which have the effect of increasing motorized traffic”. They therefore want “a reduction in the number of lanes reserved for motorists” in favor of other modes of transport.
Advantages of this plan B: it is faster to implement, less savings in investment and serves the second and third crown, underlines Boris Kozlow, president of Deux pieds deux pieds.
The approved metro
President of Tisséo Collectivités, the organizing authority for public transport, Jean-Michel Lattes is well aware of this opposition between the metro and the surface network. Before resuming the debate, he recalled that the 3rd metro line obtained broad approval during the general public debate and then the investigation which was published on the declaration of public utility. For him, these associations are “on the fringes of a democratic process”.
For the boss of urban transport, the metro has a major advantage: its capacity. He cites as proof the pro-metro debate in Bordeaux and Nantes, whose tram and bus networks are saturated. While it is expensive to invest (2.7 billion), the automatic metro is less expensive to operate, he emphasizes an additional cost of € 300 million by 2030 for a surface network. “Our current mix of modes of transport is a good balance. We are building a project at 30 years old. On the subject of the RER, which he recalls that it falls under the competence of the Region, he considers that the proposals lack two key elements: the schedule and the cost.
Demonstration for the bike this Saturday
About ten collectives and associations, such as Greenpeace, Alternatiba, France Nature Environnement, Deux Pieds Deux Roues, are organizing a cycling event this Saturday, September 25, at 2 p.m., starting from the Grand-Rond with arrival at Pradettes. The demonstrators intend to indicate that the measures taken by Toulouse Métropole in terms of cycling infrastructure are too weak and unequal between the different districts of the city. “They want to insist on” the urgency of developing alternatives to non-polluting solutions, to the private car, in particular to the use of the bicycle. The Metropolis does not show sufficient will. “