In response to a fatal accident and the proliferation of miscellaneous events, the town hall of Nice decided to redevelop the cycle path on the Promenade des Anglais to make it more secure.
Two months after the tragic event, these installations do not seem to change much in the behavior of road users.
For the traffic assistant to the mayor of Nice, Gaël Nofri, the major problem is not the facilities but "compliance with the rules".
A traffic light, pedestrian crossings repainted in blue so as "to be more visible day and night", "rumble strips" as well as the word "slow down" written in capital letters on the track and a reminder of the speed limit : 20 km/h.
On the cycling section of the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, between Gambetta and the Centenary, the summer has made it possible to put in place "new security measures", promised by the town hall after the fatal accident of a Ukrainian child from 5 years old, hit by a man on an electric scooter.
Despite these redevelopments, it's "still the jungle" on this cycle path as noted by Alan, a 52-year-old passer-by.
Seeing users scroll by on bicycles, scooters or all kinds of electric vehicles, he shakes his head: “It doesn't make them slow down.
People spin, they don't pay attention at all.
He then stands just behind a newsstand, ready to cross without anyone stopping.
“I'm all the more careful since a year ago, a cyclist knocked me down when I had stopped to drink water from the fountain opposite the Negresco.
I had a broken femur.
According to him, even more speed bumps are needed.
“The problem is the pedestrians”
Ben Salem, 22, and Karim, 20, are both scooter riders.
“As I lost my licence, it really became my only means of transport”, explains the first.
He admits not “always stopping” at stop signs and traffic lights, but “always paying attention”.
“I always slow down at intersections, I always have my hand on the brake,” he says.
His friend adds: “Even before the accident and the improvements, we were careful.
The problem is the pedestrians.
There are too many who absolutely do not watch and even being limited, it goes very quickly if there is a shock.
The facilities cannot prevent this.
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In the distance, under the pergolas, the sound of doorbells is repeated rapidly.
A technique to alert cyclists of its arrival.
By mid-September, one of these pedestrian crossings will also be completely removed, as well as those leading to the other side of the road, deemed "too dangerous", according to studies by the town hall.
Nathalie, 51, has spent almost “every day on this path” for three years.
Stories about the behavior of users of this route, she has some.
“I still have the impression that cyclists stop more since the new signage, she analyzes.
But there are always those people who want to go fast, never slow down to perform.
According to her, "they should go on the road because they have no place among the other users who respect".
" Respect the rules "
For Gaël Nofri, traffic assistant at the town hall of Nice, the major problem does not come from the facilities but comes from "respecting the rules".
“Every time we build a cycle space, we make it as safe as possible.
Depending on the years and the number of people who use it, the projects evolve.
Thus between the green frame 1 and 2, there is a big difference.
We now have on the Liberté, Dante and Buffa axis, a two-way, isolated road.
But even if we make the best possible arrangements, it can only be effective if each user of the public road respects the rules.
Everyone must be able to find their place and take other behaviors into account”.
He adds: “It is also necessary for the legislation to evolve so that we can consider these new modes of travel as such.
As the practice develops, regulations must follow.
He then thinks of registering electric scooters or being able to seize the machines when they are unbridled.
Last week, Dominique Estrosi-Sassone, Senator LR of the Alpes-Maritimes, filed with other parliamentarians, a bill to the upper house of Parliament to make the registration of these motorized vehicles compulsory and thus facilitate the identification of drivers in case of problems.
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