Toulouse: 822 new spaces for bicycles in underground car parks
Toulouse Métropole, owner of the underground car parks in the city center, has decided to create 822 new spaces for bicycles, 146 for motorcycles and 230 for residents.
This is a consequence of the cycling boom in Toulouse and the difficulty of finding a suitable place to hang on a bicycle, especially in the streets of the hyper-center. Especially when bike theft remains the rule. The elected officials of Toulouse Métropole voted last Thursday a plan to greatly increase the number of bicycle spaces in underground car parks, as has existed in that of the Capitol since 2013.
There are now 694 bicycle spaces in these car parks, including 467 at the Capitol. The goal is to eventually create 822 more in thirteen parking lots: Carnot, Esquirol, Europe, Saint-Cyprien, Saint-Michel, Saint-Aubin, Arnaud-Bernard, Saint-Etienne, Carmes, Victor-Hugo , Marengo, Jean-Jaurès and Matabiau Ramblas, the latest in car parks.
Two types of parking will be offered in these properties in the community, the vast majority of which has been licensed to Indigo. There will be free places for subscribed users, a caution of 8 € for a badge. And paid parking spaces at a monthly rate of € 6 (€ 4 for the first twelve months) because they are secure and with services (repair, recharging, etc.). A space that targets more and more owners of electric bikes.
For motorcycles too
The Metropolis also wanted to increase the spaces for motorcycles: 146 more are planned for them. They are in addition to the existing 444. Finally, new locations will also be offered to resident subscribers, that is to say residents of neighboring neighborhoods: 230 for motorists and 60 for motorcyclists. This new offer, which will involve work, change the financial balance of contracts with managers. Hence three amendments approved by elected officials.
It is on this point that the elected ecologist of Tournefeuille, Patrick Chartier, attacked, deeming the delegation of public service not suitable. “Each time the community wants to implement a new policy, it has to go through long negotiations,” he said. Response from Pierre Trautmann: “Why a public service delegation? Because the construction is paid for by the delegate. We have built parking lots without spending a single penny. It is the delegatee who supports the investment. Afterwards, he manages for the duration of the concession. The groups of the Greens and Alternative for a Citizen Metropolis abstained.
At the Capitol, Indigo claims 8 million euros
Remember, that was in 2013, the last year of Pierre Cohen’s mandate. In connection with the pedestrianization of the streets around the Place du Capitole, the municipality had decided to reverse the entry and exit directions of the Capitole underground car park with a new route for motorists via the rue du Weight-de- Oil. Amendment n ° 3 to the concession contract between the Metropolis and the company Indigo, signed on January 30, 2013, provided for an assessment in the event that these changes would have had a negative impact on attendance and therefore the turnover of the Park.
A sharp drop was indeed observed between 2012 and 2013. And the Indigo group came knocking on the door of the community for the first time to review the financial conditions of the contract. Then, in 2020, the company seized the administrative court, believing that pedestrianization had impacted its turnover. Amount of compensation requested: € 7.9 million for the period 2012-2018. This time, the Metropolis responded by agreeing on the damage but rejecting the calculation method. Finally, through a mediator appointed by the president of the tribunal, an agreement was reached, the details of which were exposed during a deliberation of June 24, 2021 of Toulouse Métropole. In short, the Metropolis will not pay compensation but will grant two additional years of concession (until 2028). Other clauses appearing in the agreement, such as the elimination of certain fees on the one hand, but also, on the other, for the benefit of the community, the increase in the quota of resident parking spaces and the securing of the bicycle space. . To this day, the agreement remains pending court approval.