- It will take some getting used to, traffic is now limited to 30 km / h in Nantes.
- Zone 30 covered less than 50% of Nantes' roads at the start of the year.
- The measure is temporary. An evaluation will be done in the fall.
This is one of the big novelties of the fall! From this Monday morning, the majority of the city of Nantes passes in the 30 km / h zone. A change that should not go unnoticed since markings have been painted on the road, new signs have also been installed. Concretely, while less than 50% of Nantes' road network was limited to 30 km / h at the start of the year, this rate now exceeds 80%, or more than 600 km “appeased” in total. An initiative adopted by more and more cities, like Grenoble, Lille, Rennes or Angers.
Main arguments put forward: accidentology and noise. "The passage to 30 km / h will, in a peaceful city, strengthen the safety of everyone, pedestrians and cyclists, but also reduce noise pollution for a better quality of life", justifies Johanna Rolland, mayor of Nantes. In Grenoble, a pioneering metropolis in zone 30, the approach has borne fruit, and a decrease in air pollution has also been observed.
The major axes are an exception
Still, there are many exceptions to 30 km / h in Nantes. The main axes accommodating tram, busway or chronobus lines are thus maintained at 50 km / h so as not to slow down public transport. This is the case, for example, of boulevards de Gaulle, Prairie-au-Duc, Tertre, des Anglais, rue Bellamy, rue Buat, rue du Croissant or most of the bridges. Boulevard de Vendée, Boulevard de Cardiff or Rue des Usines are also excluded from the system.
"In reality, there will always be several rules in force, streets at 30 and at the same time at 50. In the end, an absolute lack of readability for users", deplores Julien Bainvel, municipal councilor of opposition (LR).
Experimentation until autumn
Checks, which may result in fines, will be carried out every week, at random to start, warns the town hall. "It will be necessary to be particularly vigilant", considers Emmanuel Danais, departmental delegate of the Automobile club of the west, who also fears a "possible relaxation of the behavior of pedestrians and, especially, cyclists on the road with this lowering of the speed ".
For now, the measurement is only an experiment. A final decision will be taken at the end of 2020-beginning of 2021 on the basis of the opinions raised by the inhabitants. “I hope that all points of view will be heard,” notes Emmanuel Danais. We know very well that very often the provisional lasts. "
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