What was the Comédie in Montpellier like before?

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20 minutes

  • The metropolis has launched an online consultation through which residents will be able to give their opinion on the rehabilitation of the city center: it is the Place de la Comédie which is the first to pass through the mill of participatory democracy.

  • Among the themes that will be discussed, the paving of the square, its vegetation ...

  • "Do not worry, you can choose the color of the flowerpots on the Comedy", quipped the spokesperson for the We Are movement.

If it has experienced some tinkering, since its pedestrianization in 1986, the Comedy had never benefited from a real facelift which it needs, however.

The former mayor, Philippe Saurel (various left), had announced his intention, in 2018, to offer an in-depth rehabilitation to the famous Place de Montpellier (Hérault), and to rethink its connections with the Triangle, and the esplanade Charles-de-Gaulle.

The verdict of the ballot box prevented him from doing so.

His successor, Michaël Delafosse (PS), took over.

The mayor and president of the metropolis has launched a public consultation, aiming to imagine what will be, tomorrow, the epicenter of Montpellier.

If the entire city center, from Arceaux to the Rives du Lez, will go through the mill of participatory democracy, it is through the Comédie that the community opens the ball.

Until May 9, residents are invited to evoke the place they dream of, on a platform (here).

If the work that will be carried out, promises the metropolis, will draw its essence from the desiderata of the participants, Michaël Delafosse all the same mentioned some avenues on Tuesday.

Place de la Comédie in Montpellier - N. Bonzom / Maxele Presse

Trees on concrete?

First, the greening of the Comédie.

It was one of the mayor's measures, during the campaign: he promised that trees would be planted in the square, a real oven in summer, just to offer a little shade to walkers.

A few privets from Japan have already replaced the anti-intrusion blocks, near the carousel.

A (small) taste of the greening that the chosen one wishes to set up.

“On June 28, 2019, it was 46.5 ° on the Comédie, remembers Michaël Delafosse.

How can this place be so hostile to the people of Montpellier, when it should be so warm, so friendly?

"

Trees planted on concrete?

It is possible, assures the elected official.

The trees will take root in the basement, in the parking lot of the Comédie.

“A few places will be sacrificed,” explains Michaël Delafosse.

The scope that this somewhat singular vegetation will take is not fixed.

"Do we only vegetate the Comedy on one side, on both sides?"

“Asks the mayor.

It's up to the inhabitants to decide.

What about street furniture?

Street furniture, which is conspicuous by its absence on the former Place de l'Oeuf, will also be at the heart of the consultation.

The Comedy "must no longer simply be a place of passage, it must once again become a place to live for the people of Montpellier, where they can take the time to meet and have a good time", notes the metropolis.

“We cannot sit there, regrets the mayor.

If you want to sit down, you have to pay ”, at the café terraces.

Place de la Comédie in Montpellier - N. Bonzom / Maxele Presse

Another big building site on the Comédie: the ground.

If Hélène Mandroux (PS), in her time, had worked to repair it, the coating of the square, in limestone, "victim of time", notes the community, is degraded in some places.

And it's a real ice rink on rainy days.

Among the other avenues to explore during this consultation, the removal (or maintenance) of the entrances to the car parks, the shops located on the Comédie, the lighting, the presence of water or the holding (or not) of major events in the square are also avenues to explore, said the mayor on Tuesday.

The opposition is ironic: "You can choose the color of the flowerpots"

If no precise timetable has been unveiled as to the facelift promised to the Comedy, Michaël Delafosse assures that, "at the end of 2025", "that will have changed".

As for the cost of the operation, it will depend, of course, on what the consultation will define.

But, notes the mayor, it will be much less than the "100 million" that his predecessor wanted to devote to his similar project.

"40, 50, 60% less?

“, That remains to be clarified, confides the mayor.

Our file on town planning

This consultation did not fail to make the opposition jump.

"We did not ask you for your opinion on 5G, the new stadium, advertising ... But don't worry, you can choose the color of the flowerpots on the Comedy", quipped Tuesday, on Twitter, Valentin Fonteray, spokesperson for the movement We Are, in Montpellier.

Monday, Alenka Doulain (We are), during the metropolitan council, had already pointed out this project.

“How is it different from your predecessor's project?

", Wondered the elected, for whom the Place de la Comédie" is still in excellent condition ".

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  • Languedoc-Roussillon

  • Michael Delafosse

  • Downtown

  • Montpellier

  • Town planning