As the tramway works in Colombes approach, traffic becomes difficult -
Antoine Michelet
La Seine à Vélo is a new cycling route from Paris to Le Havre and Deauville.
With a tourist and cultural vocation, it is carried by the departments of Eure, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Maritime, Val-d'Oise and Yvelines.
The route's website was launched on October 15, but many facilities on the ground are still deficient, such as the first stage between Paris and Chatou (Yvelines).
“It's not the impressionists' park here!
Lionel Carrara, president of Réseau Vélo 78, is ironic.
The noise of the semi-trailers as a background, an industrial zone as a landscape and constraining roundabouts: crossing the port of Gennevilliers does not make many cyclists dream.
The Ax Seine association (departments of Eure, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Maritime, Val d'Oise and Yvelines) launched on October 15 the website of the Seine à Vélo, a new route between Paris and Deauville / Le Havre without announcing the inauguration.
20 Minutes
went to see the improvements on the ground.
From Monet to Renoir via Manet
Appointment is given with Lionel Carrara, president of the association Réseau Vélo 78 in Chatou, just to travel the route.
Barely 500 meters after crossing the Chatou bridge, we are on the island of the Impressionists.
Where the Fournaise house throne, a place of inspiration for Monet, Manet and even Renoir.
There too, where little treasures are hidden, those that make you love strolling on a bicycle, like the Sequana association.
A large workshop where a good number of old wooden boats are retyped.
Perfect little detour for tourists from the Seine à Vélo
Just like the Parc des Impressionnistes located on the shore of Rueil-Malmaison, opposite the island, a bucolic place where the decor of Monet's Water Lilies has been reproduced.
The lightness of the Impressionists' park contrasts quickly with the coldness of the concrete factories of Nanterre, a few hundred meters away.
A few trees here and there act as a hide-and-seek.
The quality of the cycle path is forgiving a lackluster decor.
The hardest part is yet to come.
A bridge to cross foot to earth by pushing your bike - steps oblige - marks the first of the black spots for the user of the cycle route.
"We have not yet seen a sign for the Seine à Vélo", also remarks Lionel Carrara.
The first sign is 1.5 km further on: "Here will pass the Seine by bike in 2020".
Some panels - Antoine Michelet
The hassle of working on the tram
The following 6 km are rolling, to the Argenteuil bridge where the return to traffic is tough.
Although cycle paths are arranged.
The route thickens a few hundred meters further, avenue Stalingrad in Colombes.
The cyclist is left to himself in the middle of a flood of cars in the midst of work on the extension of the T1 tram line.
A makeshift cycle lane is drawn on the ground, the route plans to turn left to join a bi-directional cycle path in the middle of the roadway that users must take by… jumping over a sidewalk
“There it is very complicated…, sighs Lionel, yet a confirmed cyclist.
And this work can last for years… ”This passage is the black point noted by many local cycle tourism associations.
"This place is dangerous for everyone, slice Martine Laizé, resident of Colombes and activist within the association Les Amis de la Nature, which follows the file closely.
Local associations have proposed alternatives to elected officials, we are waiting for a meeting with them… ”
Martine Laizé even drew up an alternative route to bypass this work area: a route located on the banks of Argenteuil and Epinay-sur-Seine, before joining the current route in Saint-Denis.
"It would be a good solution," believes Didier Couval-Grima, member of Cyclo Trans Europe and author of a guide La Seine à Vélo to be published by Chamina editions at the start of 2021. It is a shame not to have sought to overcome this hard point .
"
Little by little, the capital takes shape in the distance
After this dubious development, the route leads to the port of Gennevilliers.
Here again, far from the tranquility of the road on the bank of Rueil-Malmaison.
The noise of semi-trailers, roundabouts, and an invisible Seine for a few kilometers tarnishes the good layout of the cycle paths.
“We don't have too much to complain about the layout here,” says Lionel Carrara.
However, the cyclist must bring his card several times to make up for the lack of signage on the route.
Then, little by little, the capital takes shape in the distance.
Parc des Chanteraines offers a breath of fresh air before attacking Île Saint-Denis and a new question mark for cyclists: on the two bridges from Villeneuve-la-Garenne to Saint-Denis, cyclists must take a cycle lane located on the roadway and on… the tram rails.
The first instinct is to take the sidewalk.
“We will still test this small portion, ironically Lionel Carrara, and be careful not to put your wheels in a rail!
"
Our dossier on the Seine
The difficulty over, you just have to cross the Saint-Denis station to reach the quays of the Saint-Denis canal.
From here to Paris and the square of Notre-Dame, almost every inch is fitted out for bicycles.
“With coronapistes it's even easier to get around Paris!
», Rejoices Lionel.
The Villette basin, the Saint-Martin canal to République to finish on the Île de la Cité… End of a stage marked by too many inconveniences.
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20 seconds of context
The series "The new course of the Seine" was produced by a promotion of nine work-study students from the Paris school of journalism ESJ-Pro, under the direction of their trainers and the 20 Minutes team.
The subjects paint the changing relationship between Paris and its river, the image of which is upset by the constant improvement in water quality.
Cyclist
Environment
Planet
Seine
Bike
Paris