Toulouse. Two years after their inauguration, the difficult animation of the ramblas
The redevelopment work of the Jean-Jaurès alleys gave birth to the ramblas at the end of 2019, after three years of work. Since then, they have struggled to attract Toulouse residents. The installation of animations is done gradually.
Deserts. The ramblas, this Saturday morning, are empty, as often. Sporadically, they are crossed with hatred by Toulouse residents. On one of the concrete benches, Jamel is smoking a cigarette. “I’m passing through, he says. I didn’t know this place but I really like the vegetation. It’s a shame, there aren’t many people…”. At the bottom of the esplanade, a handful of Toulouse residents sell cakes to help people suspended “because of the vaccination obligation”. “It is true that there is little passage, recognizes Wilfrid, the organizer.
Two years after their inauguration, the ramblas are struggling to attract people. “We got used to the idea that we can’t find the idea of adequate animations in a precise way. We first had to deliver this realization so that the inhabitants of Toulouse appropriate it. Over time, we will find ideas”, had named Jean-Luc Moudenc on December 23, 2019. Since then, the installation of animations hobbles.
Every year, the Christmas tree attracts the inhabitants of the central island for a few weeks. A designer market that stretches over a few meters on certain days timidly animates the huge esplanade. But most of the time, the ramblas are a place of passage. And even. They are when the people of Toulouse deign to cross the street, often preferring longer paths on the sidewalks, widened to 15 meters during the redevelopment work.
Food truck break
As soon as the work was completed, two calls for projects were launched. They proved unsuccessful. But the Capitole, anxious to liven up the central esplanade, has called on food trucks. In 2021, four have settled. Two others are to join them in the following weeks. “If the town hall offers us to settle, that’s why the animation is lacking, recognizes a manager of one of the kitchens on wheels. I think that gradually, the ramblas will be transformed and become a place of life”. The arrival of food-trucks is part of the response to this lack of entertainment. At noon and in the evening, residents collect dishes.
Post-covid, synonymous with renewal?
The Covid-19 also paralyzes the animation of the ramblas. The town hall of Toulouse is studying the organization of festivities on the esplanade, which will probably see the light of the health crisis. Another project is under study: the installation of kiosks. “Before launching this project, everything must be checked. When everything is operational, we will launch it. But it takes time, the steps are a little more cumbersome”, indicates Cécile Dufraisse, deputy mayor in charge of commercial occupation. from the public domain.
And if the ramblas were finally thought out in time? That explained the sluggish animation. The Grand Matabiau project could also benefit the esplanade. We can imagine that one day, in a more or less distant future, the central island of the Jean-Jaurès alleys will be like the ramblas of Barcelona, Montpellier or Béziers.
A place of life in the 19th century
In a photo by Jean Dieuzaide dating from the end of the 1950s, we can see a game of petanque at the foot of a housing tower under construction, at the top of the alleys. Players and spectators pay attention. Last image of the old version of the Jaurès alleys, created under the name of Lafayette alleys between 1816 and 1824. A large esplanade 560 m long, then planted with 280 abalones. The promenade, then called “allées Lafayette”, ends in a cul-de-sac at the veterinary school, located at the current location of the José-Cabanis media library. From time immemorial, the Jean-Jaurès alleys have had an important function in the organization of Toulouse’s urban space. In the 1970s, they underwent a major modification in connection with automobile development.