Toulouse: misunderstanding, speeding, the Marengo district can’t take it anymore
The rue des Champs-Elysées, near the Arche Marengo in Toulouse, is the scene of speeding and recklessness. Since the closure of the rue de Périole for works in early 2021, this neighboring artery has experienced repeated acts of traffic crime.
Cars in the wrong direction, speeding in a street limited to 30 km / h … Carelessness succeeds the nuisance, and residents of the rue des Champs-Elysées, in the Marengo district in Toulouse, are overwhelmed. Since spring 2021, the rue de Périole, parallel, has been completely closed to traffic. Work to divert the water or gas networks in the basement, preparatory to the construction of the 3rd metro line, is still taking place there for a few days. Originally, Tisséo had planned detour routes, by rue Saint-Laurent to the north, or by boulevard Marengo and boulevard Bonrepos and avenue de Lyon, to bypass Matabiau station. But to avoid this detour, some motorists, coming from the Bonnefoy sector in particular, do not hesitate to take the rue des Champs-Elysées against the flow, in the north-south direction, to reach the Marengo arch.
“About twenty cars” would take the street in the wrong direction every day
“It’s about twenty, thirty vehicles per day, testifies Laurent, a local resident. This Monday morning, I went out twice, and twice I saw cars going in the wrong direction. People are driving very, very fast. It is dangerous for people who cycle, or even cross on foot. They tumble down and won’t think about hitchhiking. “
A group of local residents was formed two months ago to alert Toulouse Métropole, coordinator of the rue de Périole site, on the subject. “It is supposed to be a zone 30, but it is long, very far from being the case, continues Laurent. There is an” escape “street when you are in the rue des Champs-Elysées, it is the street Emile Zola: But she’s tiny. It is a pity that the metropolis has not provided for temporary speed bumps, flashing lights to calm everyone down, or an educational radar … “
Contacted, Toulouse Métropole indicated that an educational radar had been set up last summer, as well as a “give way”, towards Place Arago. The rue de Périole must be reopened to traffic on Friday, October 15.