Works bazaar place de la Daurade in Toulouse: “It took me an hour to do 400 meters”
Since April 4, it takes almost an hour to go from Place Saint-Pierre to Rue de Metz in Toulouse during rush hour. At issue: work to redefine the cycle path and few other route options.
“It took me an hour to do 400 meters, just to go from Place Saint-Pierre to Rue Peyrolières near La Daurade,” complains Xavier, a passing motorist. He did not expect to take so long to cross this district of the hypercentre of Toulouse.
Since April 4, works have been carried out on Place de la Daurade and these have caused many traffic jams. “To allow cyclists to circulate in complete safety, Toulouse Métropole is intervening to improve the existing facilities”, explains a spokesperson for the town hall. A separation between the two-way cycle path and the traffic lane is being reinforced by a 7 centimeter curb and a beveled drop. The objective is to prevent cars from encroaching on the space reserved for bicycles. “The works also make it possible to recover the parts of the degraded roadways of the Place de la Daurade as well as the speed bump”, she adds.
Six weeks of work
The work should last six weeks, according to the town hall. But no solution to facilitate the passage of cars is, for the moment, concerned. Neither other routes nor traffic control are offered on site. Arriving at La Daurade, motorists must take a narrow street, normally in the opposite direction, to reach Rue Peyrolières. This is where they come face to face with the flow coming from Place du Capitole. Car after car and walking, they can then reach rue de Metz, one of the main arteries in the center of Toulouse.