Toulouse. The City wants to halve the share of the car along the Canal du Midi
By Guillaume Laurent
Published on
“Reduce the place of the car and reduce the intensity of road traffic”. It is the ambition of “Grand canal park” projectpresented by the mayor of ToulouseThursday, January 5, 2023. A project whose Jean-Luc Moudenc unveiled the contours, and which aims to “give back space to nature”, but also to “reconnect with mind walkout of sight” around the canal in Toulouse.
By “canal”, the municipality of course means the iconic midi channel, link between the Occitan capital and the Mediterranean, but also the Lateral Canal to the Garonne, its natural extension towards the Atlantic, without forgetting the Canal de Brienne, which rests, in the heart of the Pink City, the river with the two previous channels.
“After a first phase in 2022, we are going to accentuate the consultation this year”, specified the first magistrate, when presenting the sketches of this project called to transform the landscape – today very road – around the work of Pierre-Paul Riquet, whose first stage will pass by the smallest of the canals, that of Brienne.
“A tremendous potential” on the Brienne forecourt
At the foot of the Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), “the Brienne forecourt, behind Saint-Pierre, will be highlighted”, agitated Jean-Luc Moudenc, convinced that there is “tremendous potential on the spot “. This is to develop “a large forecourt intended for pedestrians” in front of the establishment, in order to “highlight a public building”, but also to restore the Saint-Pierre lock and to highlight historical monuments. .
After the completion of the consultation in 2023, the town hall plans “an opening to the public of these new developments in July 2025″. And in the wake of this first stage of the Brienne canal, she will tackle the biggest piece: the prestigious – but not always valued, so far – canal du midi.
“Reduce the space of evolution to the car”
This Thursday, Jean-Luc Moudenc poured out on his vision of the development to come around the work classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (in the same way as the Brienne Canal for that matter). “On go reduce the space allocated to the car on either side of the Canal du Midi, and we will do it gradually, ”announced the mayor, who also posted a cap: “I want it to be successful when metro line C will come into service, because part of the road traffic will be absorbed by the 3e lines”.
“We are going to double the plant network along the canal, to reinforce the circulation of bicycles and pedestrians, by separating the flows”.
“The place of the car is central in the reconfiguration of the Canal plan”, supported its vice-president for ecology, François Chollet. “What is planned is reduce by about 50% the place of the car along the canal. We must revegetate this space and restore its place to nature,” insisted the elected official, recalling that “traffic developed in the 1970s” around the canal.
“It’s already extremely ambitious”, defended the mayor
Which road portions will disappear from the landscape? It’s still a bit early to tell. Corn in 2019, the town hall announced the end of the famous hopperswhich could happen to remove one traffic lane on each side from the Canal du Midi…
Is the town hall ready to go further, even if it means completely banning the car from the perimeter? “Reducing by 50% the right-of-way dedicated to the automobile on either side of the Canal du Midi in the heart of Toulouse is already extremely enormous, to go beyond that would seem unreasonable to me”, defended the mayor, who does not However, depending on the “evolutions” of society and modes of transport, it does not refrain from “moving towards an even stronger solution in the future”.
“Reducing the share of the car in the city, I say yes, but in an extremely concerted way. And when we make an arbitration, it is always for the benefit of pedestrians, cyclists and nature in the city”.
François Chollet, for his part, observes that over the years, ” the traffic gradually decreases along the canal”, where certain sections are still well produced in places: “There are still 40,000 vehicles per day at the Port de l’Embouchure”.
Tactical developments around the canal
To imagine the landscape of tomorrow, “technical arrangements” will be manufactured here and there over the next few years “along the Canal du Midi”, Jean-Luc Moudenc also declared. “They will be serviced if they are effective,” he continued. A method that is reminiscent the temporary cycle paths, tested during the Covid epidemic… and for many continued thereafter.
Various projects, such as “the enhancement of Port of the Mouth and basin of the Filters, of the Minimes hoppersfrom Port Saint-Sauveuror even of the dry dockwill be proposed and carried out by the end of the mandate”, assured Jean-Luc Moudenc, who also intends to proceed with the development of Saint-Pierre lock and other content along the work, including at Fenouillet and Lespinasse.
Opening of the two footbridges on the island of Ramier in November
2023 will also be a decisive year for the continued development of the Grand Parc Garonne, on the Ile du Ramier, its epicentre. While an “active planting phase” will be carried out on the island this year, according to the mayor, the two footbridges intended for pedestrians and cyclists which will span the Garonne to connect the island will be completed. Their opening is scheduled for next November.
Are we going to relaunch freight on the Canal du Midi?
François Chollet also indicated, this Thursday, that the community was conducting a reflection on “the future of the canal du midi himself”. At stake, for the fourth city of France? “The question of economic development” of this book, the community being open to the idea of “relaunching freight stopped in the 90s”. But “provided an economic balance is found”, hastened to specify Jean-Luc Moudenc.
Was this article helpful to you? Know that you can follow Actu Toulouse in space My News . In one click, after registration, you will find all the news of your favorite cities and brands.