Mélina Facchin 06h27, May 31, 2022

To facilitate the circulation of delivery vehicles in the morning in the pedestrian streets of Strasbourg, the town hall wants to ban or at least limit cafe terraces before 11 a.m.

This regulation is in fact already provided for by a text that is more than 70 years old.

Inevitably, professionals are worried.

The City of Strasbourg wants to restore order in the café terraces which open early in the morning in pedestrian zones.

To simplify the circulation of delivery trucks in these often congested small streets, the town hall relies on a 1951 regulation which stipulates that terraces are not authorized before 11 am.

In fact, many café owners have deviated from this rule for years, even decades, but today they fear its strict application.

"A punishment for everyone"

Having her morning coffee on this sunny terrace in the city center is a ritual for Edwine, surprised to learn that she may soon no longer be able to do so.

"I couldn't even imagine without!" She exclaims at the microphone of Europe 1. "I didn't even think we couldn't be on the terrace before 11 a.m. It would be such a shame", sighs the young woman.

“We are told to make the traders work, but there… I find it a punishment for everyone.”

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"A quarter of the turnover and one or two fewer employees"

More than a punishment, it is even "a blow" for Samuel Alizadeh, the manager of Café Suzanne, a Strasbourg institution.

"This house has existed since 1932 and has always had a terrace," he recalls.

Doing without this terrace from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. would be “a quarter of the turnover less and one or even two employees less”, estimates this cafe owner.

Facilitate the movement of delivery trucks

For Pierre Ozenne, deputy mayor in charge of shared public spaces, applying this 1951 regulation would make today's city more pleasant.

"We count more than 600 terraces in Strasbourg. A little over ten years ago, we were almost half as many", he explains.

"The city is changing and so are the number of pedestrian zones".

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This measure would above all make it possible to unclog the small streets of the historic center: "Deliveries are made from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. in very small spaces", recalls Pierre Ozenne.

"So we have to find rules so that everything can work properly. We are not opposed to the fact that there can also be terraces: it's all a question of size and cohabitation", concludes the deputy who believes that a Only twenty terraces would be concerned.

The town hall of Strasbourg has set up a working group with cafe owners and local residents or even pedestrians to study the issue.

And she promises to do it on a case-by-case basis.