Outcry against an extension of the pound in the Lafourguette district
They discovered this project through a letter from the town hall left in their mailboxes on October 6, inviting them to attend an information meeting that was taking place… the day before. Since then, residents of Lafourguette district, in Toulouse, are headwind against
the extension of the pound that the town hall has decided to set up at the intersection of avenue Einsenhower and route de Seysses.
Two hectares of non-constructible land which, within two years, should accommodate nearly 300 cars, often abandoned by their owners on public roads or in private residences. A secure car park that Sabine Azouz will soon be able to see from her windows, instead of the century-old trees sparse today on the plot adjoining her residence.
“Not a trash district”
“We lack green space in our neighborhood, and there, we are going to artificialize the soil, downgrade the century-old trees. We are already close to the waste collection center and the incinerator, there are already enough industrialized sites in Toulouse not to use this area even though it is welcoming more and more inhabitants. We are not sub-citizens, it is not a trash district”, plagues this resident who militates within the collective created to say no to this extension of the pound which has launched a online petition.
Beyond the project, it is also the method that its members deplore. They regret not having been concerted and to have “been faced with a fait accompli”, engages Jonathan Prunier, one of the residents who is afraid of having to suffer new nuisances due to the traffic of trucks accessing the site by small streets. On Monday, he will also be present at a meeting organized to inform the other inhabitants and propose alternative solutions, such as the creation of market gardens or urban farms.
“On this site, there will be a limited flow. I understand that each project can cause concern, but we are going to make a secure car park and the idea is to gradually offer greening and landscape insertion, ”says Emilion Esnault, deputy mayor in charge of the municipal police.
Saturated pound
For the latter, the extension of the municipal pound, located avenue des Etats-Unis, had become a necessity. “We have 450 places and already have a small extension of 50 places in a garage. But it is saturated, we have hundreds of requests pending to remove “suction cup” vehicles, improperly parked on public roads or in private residences, ”argues the elected official.
A situation which, according to him, prevents the municipal police “from impounding a public parking policy”. Only cars parked in market places or which obstruct the movement of garbage trucks have a risk of being impounded in Toulouse. These, recovered after one or two days by their owners, will remain on Avenue des Etats-Unis. Those impounded for judicial immobilization or abusive parking, which generally remain in the parking lot for more than a month, will go to one of the 350 places supposed to be in Lafourguette.
If the municipality has chosen this land, it is because it already belongs to it and cannot be built on. “The presence of secure parking can also reduce the risk of illegal occupation of this land,” says Emilion Esnault. “There were travelers a few years ago, but since then they have dug trenches and put concrete blocks”, notes Sabine Azouz for whom this is not an argument. The latter prefers to mention the noise pollution that the project risks triggering. Or the presence of groundwater in the area. “It’s paradoxical to want to destroy a green zone when the town hall keeps saying that it wants to green Toulouse. »