À Bordeaux, la nouvelle place des Capucins érigée comme « modèle »
After consultation with local residents and merchants in the district, then the experimental phase, work could begin. Pierre Hurmic, present at the inauguration, underlines the speed of the process of the square being redeveloped in less than two years. For the mayor of Bordeaux, this redevelopment “is a sample of what a life-size city is”. As part of the program “Bordeaux grandeur nature”, the place is described by Pierre Hurmic as “symptomatic of our dream”.
“A strong symbol”
Olivier Cazaux agrees with him on this point: “Place des Capucins is a model for all places in Bordeaux. In other words, greener and more pedestrian. The tree pits have been enlarged and will be decorated with vegetation. Two new maple trees will be planted. In the long term, the objective is to increasingly reduce the presence of the car for a city “more pleasant, vegetated and made accessible to pedestrians”. One of the aims of the work was also to transform this “island of heat that is not very popular in summer” into an island of coolness.
Arnaud and Jérôme, a glass of mulled wine in hand, explain that they are satisfied with the result. But according to the inhabitants of the district, the priority was elsewhere. “Some streets in Saint-Michel need to be redone. To this, Olivier Cazaux replies that “you have to start somewhere”. Place des Capucins has a “strong symbol”. Flora Couhault, president of the association The Reverb who organizes the guinguette, is of this opinion. “The Capucins market is very important for the district. It is a place of reunion. »
Rested pedestrians
She has lived in this neighborhood for 20 years and she is very happy that the work is finished. All that remains is to lay the benches “so that we can nibble on Sunday”. This Sunday, November 27 in the morning, Éléonore crosses the pedestrianized area with great strides to go to the market. “It’s sure that for pedestrians, it’s more practical and more pleasant. Especially to walk from the Capuchins to Saint-Michel. But for traffic, it’s more annoying. »