Toulouse. Greening Place du Capitole: the idea is gaining ground (or almost)
By Guillaume Laurent
Published on
It is one of the most popular projects of the participatory consultation “My ideas for my neighborhood”, received since the beginning of the month by the town hall of Toulouseand which allows residents to vote until October 31 for their favorite proposals: greening Place du Capitole, epicenter of the Pink City. “It is the most popular, but it is also the most technically complicated”, argues the mayor (LR) Jean-Luc Moudenc, very careful on the subject.
“Give more majesty” to this place
” To give even more majesty to this emblematic place of the Pink City, this place could be enveloped in greenery: planting of trees, bins…”, wrote Marie-Pierre, one of the Toulousaines at the origin of this idea, returned in a loop during consultation.
On its website dedicated to voting, the Metropolis indicates that “this proposal has been accepted”, but recalls that the development of the Place du Capitole is limited due to a certain number of constraints.
“I rejected a certain number of proposals” says Jean-Luc Moudenc
“All substantive work is being carried out by my elected colleagues and by the services”, defended Jean-Luc Moudenc, questioned on this file on Monday October 17, 2022, when presenting Act 2 of its climate plan for the Metropolis “This is a subject that is currently being worked on, as part of the plan intended to cool the city for summer 2023″ that the mayor intends to present proposed.
“I have rejected a number of proposals which were made to me, because of the underground parking “, blew Jean-Luc Moudenc. “To cut short any attack from my opposition, I would like to point out that this car park, it was not me who made it, but Bazerque (Louis by his first name, who was the last SFIO mayor of Toulouse, between 1958 and 1971, before the Baudis dynasty, editor’s note). Then he develops the proposals elaborated… and discarded:
“In particular, I was presented with the idea of planting trees around the Place du Capitole, for 400,000 to 700,000 euros, which is not feasible, and which does not solve the problem, because it must deal with the center of the square, above the car park”.
A limited carrying capacity, according to the mayor
According to the tenant of the Capitole, in this project, “we come up against technical data that the people of Toulouse do not have: it is the carrying capacity of the place. When it’s full, what happens when the Stade Toulousain brandishes the Brennus for example, We are at 80% capacity of lift”.
“What is certain is that we will not be able to plant permanent trees on the Place du Capitole. If we put 50 trees there, it should not be! We will therefore not be able to install a real canopy, with real trees”.
The elected official is part of “another obstacle”, more institutional this one : “The architect of the buildings of France will not accept that the facade of the Capitol be closed off by abundant and permanent vegetation”.
“A certain number of constraints”, confirms the town hall
On its website, the town hall also indicates that the development of the square can only be “limited”, due to three major constraints: “The presence of underground parking on a large part of the square does not allow plantations in the ground; A situation in the sector safeguarded and therefore prior assent of the architect of the buildings of France; Numerous demonstrations and uses on the square requiring to maintain a surface free of any obstacle”.
A “very special relationship” with the place?
If Jean-Luc Moudenc is very vigilant on this subject, it is because he is convinced that “Toulouseans have a very special relationship with the Place du Capitole”, a site linked to the history of the Pink City, and which, let us remember, takes its name from the proximity of the “Maison commune” of the Capitouls.
“If tomorrow I captured all the use of this square for the purpose of revegetation, I would take away from many Toulouse residents what they appreciate…”
And the city councilor insists: “The ideal solution, pure and hard revegetation is not possible”.
Towards… seasonal planters?
” I asked let’s do it differently to revegetate or/and reduce the temperature”, develop the mayor, who encouraged “the services and the elected officials, to work on the problem of the three summer months, in order to give back the place more livable”.
Without dwelling on the selected projects, Jean-Luc Moudenc confides that he is working on a “light vegetation” space. He defends “a temporary solution for the summer, which allows events, Stade Toulousain celebrations, and demonstrations”.
The City gives some leads on the developments in the boxes on its participatory site, where it indicates that it is “possible to narrow square planters of 1m50/1m50 or 2m/2m in ‘Corten’ type steel allowing the planting of “trees”.
“These planters could be deployed along the facade of the Capitol to emphasize the rhythm of this building. Additions on either side of the square are also possible”.
A pool, shade sails?
But the installation (so seasonal) of plants, even if they are planters, is not the only solution authorized by Jean-Luc Moudenc to cool this place which is a real furnace in the summer. “I looked to install a basin. We can put it on, but not too big, ”explains the first magistrate.
The mayor also mentions, without saying more, other solutions “as we can see in Spain, for example”. After having suffered from the climate of Seville this summer, will the most Spanish of the big French cities be adorned with shade sails Andalusian?
As part of the “My ideas for my neighborhood” operation, Toulouse residents are called upon to vote among 200 projects selected, following a call for ideas, where no less than 1,600 proposals were issued, on the revegetation, the place of cycling, sport-health, etc.
Since October 3 and until October 31, 2022, everyone can vote – and it is not nominative – on the dedicated website, to designate its three favorite projects by district.
Eight million euros were earmarked for this operation (ie 300,000 euros per district town hall), with an envelope of two million euros in reserve to finance larger projects. According to Olivier Arsac, the elected official in charge of coordinating neighborhood mayors and citizen participation, the ideas will be selected following the end of the votes, at the beginning of November, and must be completed in 2023 or 2024, maximum.
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