In which streets of Toulouse, is it forbidden to overtake bicycles?
Like other cities in France, Toulouse is experimenting with cycle routes and developing new traffic signs. Motorists are no longer allowed to pass cyclists in certain streets of the Pink City. But which ones?
Representing a red car behind a cyclist on a blue background, new road signs have appeared in certain streets of Toulouse. Surprising at first glance, these unusual panels mark the entrance to a “vélorue”. A device born in Germany in the 1980s which gives priority to cyclists on motorized vehicles when the roadway is too narrow to allow overtaking under optimal safety conditions. Already adopted by northern European countries such as Denmark or the Netherlands, accustomed to proactive policies to promote soft travel, cycle routes are slowly gaining ground in France.
Indeed, a reform of the Highway Code, dating from July 2, 2015, allows managers to see to indicate on the ground, generally by a cyclist symbol surmounted by a double chevron, a recommended trajectory for two wheels. On the portions thus materialized, the latter are then no longer subject to the obligation to keep to the right of the roadway to allow passage to other vehicles. The entry and exit of a vélorue are indicated by signs, also present in the adjacent streets.
Several vélorues in test in Toulouse
After Bordeaux, Dijon or Strasbourg, the first French city to have experimented with this new rule in May 2017, Toulouse has in turn embarked on the conversion of some of its routes into vélorues. “The town hall is continuing its developments to promote and strengthen the practice of cycling. The vélorues concern certain streets too narrow to reserve a lane for cyclists, and little used by motorists for local desserts. Deployed among others in the city center, rue des Potiers, rue des Amidonniers and rue Riquet, this system is set to be extended ”, specifies the City of Toulouse, which has opened a consultation on the municipal platform jeparticipe.toulouse.fr in order to allow users to express their views on this new development.
Fight against “grazing overruns”
By forcing motorized vehicles to drive at a moderate speed behind bicycles, the public authorities hope to improve cohabitation between users and fight against “grazing overtaking”, however prohibited by the Highway Code. Indeed, the law requires motorists to leave a minimum space of one meter when overtaking a cyclist in a built-up area. A rule too often ignored which prohibits, in fact, overtaking in most streets of the city center.