Rue de la République in Toulouse, pedestrians and cyclists will gain ground
In Toulouse, in the extension of rue de Metz which will be pedestrianised, work will begin this month on rue de la République, on the Saint-Cyprien side, to create a cycle path.
Less space for the car, more space for pedestrians and cyclists. In the city center of Toulouse, the orientation has been taken for several years and is becoming more concrete as the projects progress. The pedestrian metamorphosis of the city began with rue Alsace, rue Pargaminières and rue Gambetta under the mandate of Pierre Cohen (2008-2014). It continued with rue des Lois and the surroundings of emblematic sites: the Victor-Hugo market and the Saint-Sernin basilica since 2014 with Jean-Luc Moudenc. Here, for the second term of the current tenant of the Capitol, the time of the rue de Metz construction site which begins on January 16. While waiting for that of the main street Saint-Michel at the end of the year.
Vegetated sidewalks
But with the pedestrianization of rue de Metz between the war memorial and place Esquirol, the last artery that allows cars to cross the city center, it is the entire axis that runs to Saint-Cyprien which will be transformed as part of the “left bank right bank” project. The goal is to create cycling continuity rue de Metz, place Esquirol, pont Neuf and rue de la République.
In this last street, emblematic of the Saint-Cyprien district, the district mayor, Jean-Paul Bouche, organized two consultations in 2022. The initial idea was to remove one side of the parking lot to pass the two-way cycle path. But during the meetings organized with the population, a local resident proposed to also remove the second side of the parking lot. And it is finally the option which was retained after the second consultation.
The project, which also begins on January 16, is therefore the following. On the left side (in the direction of the Pont Neuf towards St-Cyprien) the cycle path will be built. And the sidewalks will be widened. Advantage: revegetation of sidewalks becomes possible. “Important revegetation”, underlines Jean-Paul Bouche who also thinks of Place Olivier which had been mineralized during a past renovation.
The novelty is that avenue Etienne-Billières has been included in the project. Following a consultation organized in November, it was decided to eliminate almost all the parking on the service roads to create a “gentle” cycle path, the “fast” cycle path being maintained on the roadway. A project that will be realized later.
Finally, the consultation will resume on the Saint-Pierre bridge which should also be pedestrianized or semi-pedestrianized.