More and more cyclists in the Toulouse conurbation
The practice of cycling, and the infrastructures necessary for this, are developing in the Toulouse conurbation, according to the second edition of the observatory of cycling mobility.
The bicycle is presented as one of the priorities of the current mandate of Jean-Luc Moudenc (LR), the mayor of Toulouse and president of the Toulouse metropolis. He announced that he wanted to “move up a gear” to develop the practice of cycling on the metropolitan territory during back-to-school conference. New cycle paths and VélÔToulouse stations are announced.
It turns out that the practice of cycling, and the facilities necessary for it, are developing in the Toulouse conurbation. This is shown by the second edition of the cycle mobility observatory produced by theToulouse Air Métropole Urban Planning and Development Agency (AUAT). This is an overview of the implementation of the cycling policy on the outskirts of the Toulouse conurbation.
It appears that the most urban municipalities and those located along the Canal du Midi “are the most popular with cyclists”, according to flow analyses. “This is the case of Ramonville-Saint-Agne, Blagnac, Tournefeuille and of course Toulouse. 9.1% of working people cycle there for their home-to-work journeys in 2018 according to INSEE (compared to 8.1% in 2017). »
An evolution in the practice of cycling in Toulouse
For the first time, cycling is increasing at the entrances to the city of Toulouse. “This trend can be explained by a real boom in cycling since the Covid-19 crisis. Cycling is no longer practiced only in the center of Toulouse, but in the suburbs and in the municipalities of the first crown”, according to the AUAT.
Moreover, if the practice of cycling increases throughout the agglomeration, certain axes are used more than others. The Canal du Midi, rue de Metz in Toulouse, the canal lateral to the Garonne and the airport belt are thus major routes for cyclists.
More than 300 kilometers of cycle paths in addition
“Based on the data transmitted by the local authorities, the observatory identifies an increase in infrastructure dedicated to cycling, which increased from 1,348 km to 1,686 km from 2020 to 2021”, says the AUAT.
“The number of accidents recorded by theNational Interministerial Road Safety Observatory is down in 2021 compared to the previous year. 75% of these accidents took place between a bicycle and a car. The share of accidents involving a bicycle, among all accidents on public roads, remains rather stable (14%, compared to 16% in 2020 and 14% in 2019)”, indicates the observatory again.