the Covid terraces are maintained until March 2022
The mayor of Toulouse Jean-Luc Moudenc has decided to extend the authorization to extend the terraces of the Pink City, which was due to end on Thursday, September 30. Cafetiers and restaurateurs, weakened by the Covid-19 crisis, welcome the news with satisfaction.
Toulouse cafetiers and restaurateurs have finally obtained an official response from the town hall. Since August, a part of those who benefited from an exceptional authorization to extend their terraces on the public domain requested an extension of this measure. Six days from the deadline, they were therefore granted an additional six months. Indeed, the device, put in place at the end of the first containment linked to the Covid-19 epidemic and already renewed twice, is until March 31, 2022. and representatives of catering professionals, aim to support and help them when they have been particularly affected by the health crisis, ”explain the services of the town hall, in a press release.
Towards a sustainability of the system?
Jean-Luc Moudenc, during his back-to-school press conference, had set three conditions for the extension of the terrace extensions: “That there was no reporting of nuisance, that it did not affect people with reduced mobility or walking pedestrians, and that this did not pose any difficulty in terms of automobile traffic ”. A case-by-case examination … finally postponed. “These six additional months will make it possible to refine the assessment which will be carried out when it is issued”, now indicates the town hall of Toulouse. This gives hope to Olivier Bouscatel, the regional president of National group of independents in the hotel and catering industry (GNI), a sustainability of the system.
4 establishments, out of 526, without terrace extensions in Toulouse
“This one really pleased the people of Toulouse. And it was well managed by the professionals. The vast majority of hiccups were resolved in good understanding, ”assures the representative of the profession. According to him, while about fifty establishments, out of 526, were the subject of a complaint, only 4 of them received three warnings, were thus deprived of authorization and cannot request one. the renewal. For Olivier Bouscatel, “we stigmatize the large noisy terraces in the city center, but most of the extensions only concern about ten seats, in the neighborhoods and suburbs. Not the measure saved small businesses, but it also only has security in places. When there is activity, life, it pushes back traffic and limits acts of incivility ”.
A disappointment for 60 million pedestrians
After being free, then at mid-price, this third extension of the Covid terrace extensions will, this time, be billed at the current rate, i.e. 30% in addition to the rate for conventional terraces. In addition, outdoor heaters will not be allowed. A very small consolation for Richard Mébaoudj, at the head of 60 million pedestrians 31, who deplores the lack of consultation with local residents’ associations and does not hide his disappointment: “The people of Toulouse in the hyper-center and on many others Sensitive points will therefore be subjected all this autumn and all this winter to terraces and their extensions (…) Walking in the city has become a combat sport and a challenge for those who can still practice it ”.