Since the closure of the Comédie tunnel and the start of work on line 5 of the tramway, boulevards in Montpellier have been surrounded by traffic jams.
A collective of residents is fighting against this postponement of traffic.
“There is a “canyon effect”, assures a resident.
We are on a boulevard which is 15 meters wide, between the two facades.
Pollution accumulates.
»
If the town hall has agreed to make some adaptations, close traffic on these boulevards, "it's something that we are not able to do right away", notes Julie Frêche (PS), elected to transport.
At the risk of cars invading the adjacent districts, and the roundabout of Près d'Arènes.
To venture, by car, at rush hour, on the place du 8 mai 1945 or on the boulevard Berthelot, in Montpellier (Hérault), is to throw yourself into the mouth of the wolf.
The neighborhood is surrounded by cars, almost at a standstill, as the traffic jams are monstrous.
From morning to night.
Even on weekends.
Exasperated residents have even created, to denounce a situation which they consider grotesque, the collective of the Four boulevards.
Because it's not just Berthelot that gets stuck.
On the side of the boulevards of Orient, Vieussens and Rabelais, it is also a great mess, since the implementation of the new traffic plan of the metropolis.
“The four boulevards have become the only bypass south of the Ecusson, deplores a member of the collective.
All transit traffic passes through us.
The district is “victim of an accumulation of decisions”, deplores Marc Le Tourneur, ex-director of Tam, who is one of the angry residents.
It was indeed the closure of the Comédie tunnel and several other axes, and the launch of work on line 5 at Clémenceau, which precipitated the end of the tranquility.
" It's disgusting "
“There is a “canyon effect”, he continues.
We are on a boulevard which is 15 meters wide, between the two facades.
The noise reverberates.
And the pollution is piling up.
“And that is serious, gets carried away by a doctor, also a resident of the district.
“There is an immediate and long-term health risk.
It's not anything!
Pollution is concentrated in a space that is extremely small.
It's disgusting.
"For these inhabitants, this choice is" in total contradiction with the policy of the mayor [Michaël Delafosse], who advocates appeasement, the reduction of cars in the city center, the securing of cycle paths, the city at the height of children … »
And there are motorists, condemned to chomping at the bit.
“We feel a very strong anger rising from motorists, denounces a resident.
They no longer know where to go to go to work and waste a lot of time.
The tension is palpable, it is an anxiety-provoking climate, and anything but appeased.
As for local residents, they have to "make big detours to get home, and are also stuck in traffic jams".
Like when the Comédie, in 1986, or the Jeu-de-Paume, in 2012, cars were banned, will motorists get used to it, by dint?
Or will they adapt another, softer means of transport?
“The metropolis probably believes that the dramatic situation we are experiencing will dissuade motorists from borrowing their car, confides a local resident.
But while some can switch to cycling, most people have no choice.
And all it will take is one rainy day for there to be a complete blockage of traffic.
»
The collective had an appointment, Wednesday, with the mayor, and Julie Frêche (PS), elected to transport.
The inhabitants came out disappointed, so much, they assure, "they do not advance any solution".
For her part, Julie Frêche understands "all the emotion that an increase in traffic can arouse" in this district, and in particular on boulevard Rabelais, she confides to
20 Minutes
.
“For us, the dialogue is open, notes the elected.
They asked us to make adaptations.
On the 30 km/h marking, on secure intersections, on the passage of trucks.
All this, we will respond favorably.
»
The risk of seeing adjacent streets overrun
But, for the moment, it would be difficult to carry out any postponement of traffic, in particular a "cut at the level of boulevard Vieussens", proposed by the collective, notes Julie Frêche.
Close, “this is something that we are not able to do right away.
At the risk of cars invading the adjacent streets.
And even in the Saint-Roch, Clémenceau and Carnot-Méditerranée districts.
As far as Saint-Cléophas and Lemasson.
“In peaceful neighborhoods, and streets even smaller than the boulevards, points out the elected official.
If we go to the end of the logic, if we close the boulevard Vieussens, and if we operate traffic cuts in these districts, the traffic will be transferred to the roundabout of Près-d'Arènes.
»
OUR TRANSPORT FILE
And that is impossible, as this crossroads has already been hell for years.
We would therefore have to wait for a solution to be put in place for this roundabout.
A study has been launched in this direction.
In the meantime, local residents are continuing the fight.
Saturday, at 11 a.m., a demonstration will start in front of 18 Boulevard d'Orient.
“Health and safety cannot wait,” points out a resident.
We won't give up.
»
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