Illustration of cyclists cycling on the banks of the Rhône in Lyon -

  • The Métropole de Lyon presented Monday the new facilities that will be installed to promote the practice of cycling and walking during deconfinement.
  • The objective is to offer an alternative to the TCL for those who wish to avoid public transport and to avoid a strong return of the private car.
  • Temporary cycle paths are being created. Zones 30 and pedestrian areas should be created in several municipalities to encourage walking while respecting the rules of distance.

Some developments are already visible in the agglomeration. With a view to deconfinement and the resumption of more usual travel by residents, the metropolitan area of ​​Lyon detailed Monday afternoon the "transitional" measures imagined to encourage the practice of cycling and walking from deconfinement and in the coming months. "According to various polls and surveys that have been carried out among regular TCL users, a third indicate that they will use public transport from May 11. This means that 70% will not use them, "said metropolitan president David Kimelfeld.

The fear of a return to force of the individual car in the city centers therefore encouraged the local authorities to imagine, in connection with the Sytral (organizer of the TCL) and under the leadership of the metropolis, an action plan in favor of soft fashions.

🚲🚶 + cycle paths, larger sidewalks, + pedestrian zones: from May 11 for # deconfinement, the Métropole de #Lyon gives more room for walking and cycling.

👉 https://t.co/vK0YLAeUdp pic.twitter.com/tB3m2U6dqe

- Métropole de Lyon (@grandlyon) May 4, 2020

Bus lanes open to bikes

By September, 77 new cycle paths will be provisionally improved to complete the 1,000 km of existing paths in the territory. Twelve kilometers must be completed by May 11, an additional 33 km by early June, then a further ten in early July and twenty for the start of the school year. Among these improvements, the metropolis has planned new corridors intended to facilitate secure journeys from point A to point B, by creating zones reserved for cyclists on the ground.

This has been the case since Monday morning on the Pont de la Gullotière and the start of Cours Gambetta, where yellow bands indicate the areas reserved for two-wheelers. Bicycle lanes will also be reduced on avenue Jean-Jaurès (7th), on boulevard du 11 novembre in Villeurbanne or even on quai Charles-de-Gaulle, in the 6th arrondissement. To encourage the use of two-wheelers, the majority of bus lanes (compared to half today) will also be open to cyclists and 3,000 hoops will be installed in the street for parking bikes.

"We need to treat mobility today in a different way", repeated David Kimelfeld, stressing that some of these arrangements could be preserved beyond the health crisis, if they appear essential and suitable. A response to bicycle promotion associations which have been demanding for months, in view of the municipal and metropolitan elections, a much more ambitious action plan in favor of two-wheelers.

The @grandlyon announces 56 km of temporary improvements carried out by the beginning of July, as well as a bonus of 500 euros for the purchase of a VAE, 3000 bicycle hoops and 100% of the cycle bus lanes.

- Maison du Vélo Lyon (@maisonvelolyon) May 4, 2020

Zone 30 and pedestrian

Beyond the cycle paths, works or improvements should be undertaken at multiple points in the metropolis to promote and secure walking. On the outskirts of shops generating queues in confined spaces, the sidewalks should be widened, to allow everyone to respect social distancing. Towards schools and colleges, where families and pupils could be brought to mass, the parking could be prohibited or zones 30 created.

Streets or sectors should also be pedestrianized, added on Monday Jean-Luc Da Passano, vice-president in charge of travel and roads in the metropolis. To enable the municipalities to indicate the areas to be developed quickly for pedestrians, the city has activated an emergency unit to respond, within ten days, to cities wishing to carry out improvements.

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  • Bike
  • David Kimelfeld
  • Pedestrians
  • Deconfinement
  • Society
  • Coronavirus