la place Calixte-Camelle entame (enfin) sa mue
“It’s to revitalize the place,” replied the…
“It’s to revitalize the square,” replied the technical manager of the district town hall near the reinforced barrier on the roadway, along Place Calixte-Camelle. Not convinced, the lady: “It’s nonsense,” she mumbled as she left the bakery, while the owners of two cars parked between rue Bonnefin and cours Rouzic were being sought. Where they no longer have access since Monday.
Place Calixte-Camelle, whose development has been on the table for years, is finally beginning to change. “That’s it, here we go,” says Didier Jeanjean, the deputy mayor of Bordeaux in charge of nature in the city and peaceful neighborhoods. Everyone talks about it, but “no budget had been recognized for the place”. The ecological municipality prides itself on having acted, even if it was necessary to “twist the accounts to get there”, recognizes the elected official. Without changing vision: “When we treat a place, the idea is to de-impermeabilize the soil to allow water to infiltrate and avoid runoff, planting in the open ground, transforming and rebalancing the uses…” Not to revolutionize everything, but to “appease”, not a simple leitmotif but a reality shared by the greatest number: residents, shopkeepers, users, motorists, pedestrians, cyclists…
Renovated floors
The previous chapters have shown that it is difficult to get everyone to agree. The consultation times, about which some residents still find fault, have in any case led to arbitration in the offices. On the ground, they therefore result in a closure of traffic (on all or part) of two of the four axes which surround the large Calixte-Camelle square.
“We will see if it works and, if not, we may have to consider other formulas. What is needed above all is appropriation by the people”
In particular in front of the shops, including the grocery store of Harun Uran, who made a face yesterday morning while pulling on his cigarette: “It’s to annoy us. What do I do for my deliveries? I park further and walk? “Places dedicated to handling, short stops or people with reduced mobility are already or will be fitted out, we answer on the town hall side. “We always find a solution,” says Didier Jeanjean.
The following ? “We are going to completely renovate the floor to provide safety and comfort, make playful signage, install furniture…” illustrates the elected official about developments that he describes as “light” and “transitional” while waiting for the definition of a general rehabilitation program for the square planned for 2024. This is no secret: “The idea is to staple the square to the right of the facades of the south-east dial”, explains Éric Mangiarotta, the co-president of the Calixte Coeur de Bastide association. He gave no word of order to his adherents. And waits, “serene”, to see what the experiment will give: “We will see if it works and, if not, we may have to consider other formulas. What is needed above all is ownership by the people. »
A terrace ?
The Bast’ID association believes in it “hard as iron” and has demonstrated its ability to create social interaction by organizing the Fridays of Calixte (last on September 23). “It creates incredible links”, enthuses its president Ferran Yusta, evoking the difficulty of conducting an experiment on a site which will require time to assess the situation. “Sometimes you have to know how to draw courageous conclusions,” he believes.
“If it is to revitalize the neighborhood, I am for it,” says Jean-Pierre, crossed in front of the bakery. And a young mother to carry her hopes in the opening of a terrace “to bring life to everyday life”. The baker who took over the business in August has already thought about it. For the rest, he measures his words with a touch of concern: “I hope it will work, I’m waiting to see…”
Flow direction
The direction of traffic on rue Béranger and rue de Janeau has been changed. From the north of rue Bonnefin, motorists must now go up rue Béranger towards boulevard Jules Simon and can go down rue de Janeau.