• The Vannes road spans the municipalities of Orvault, Saint-Herblain and Nantes.

  • Littered with department stores and car parks, it becomes deserted in the evening and on Sundays.

  • Its layout is a legacy of the 1960s and 1970s.

Stretched over three municipalities (Nantes, Saint-Herblain and Orvault), the route de Vannes is one of the largest commercial arteries in western France. Several dozen department stores, and some tertiary and industrial activities, are grouped together over 2.5 km long. But its layout, inherited from the 1970s, offers a major place to cars, pedestrians and bicycles daring to venture there being invited to fend for themselves as best they can. Its entertainment in the evening and on Sunday is, moreover, non-existent.

This is why the elected representatives of Nantes Métropole would like that to change.

A phase of consultation with residents, traders and users has just been launched in order to consider its “renewal”.

The approach will lead to a guide plan, presented at the end of 2022, which will commit to transformations for the next 10 to 15 years.

A dedicated bus line

This reflection work does not start with a blank sheet. Elected officials defined four major orientations as a starting point. The first consists of "renewing and reorganizing the shopping life" of the route de Vannes by facilitating the grouping of thematic signs, improving the customer journey and making the landscape more attractive. The second intention is to "transform the road into a multimodal boulevard genuinely accessible to all users", in particular pedestrians and cyclists. It is, for example, a question of making pass there a line of bus in specific site (busway or chronobus).

The third orientation is to "make the road to Vannes alive and habitable".

This involves the construction of housing, public services and local shops.

Finally, elected officials want to "strengthen biodiversity", that is to say, add green spaces, remove concrete from the ground and facilitate the connection between the valleys of Cens and Chézine.

"Plan together so as not to undergo its evolution"

“The route de Vannes was entirely designed for the car and constitutes a sort of border for the towns of Saint-Herblain and Orvault.

But, tomorrow, it may be a place to live, better integrated into the city, ”is convinced Bertrand Affilé, mayor of Saint-Herblain.

"We must plan our future together so as not to undergo an evolution that would not satisfy anyone," insists Jean-François Guitton, mayor of Orvault.

It is a long-term job to be carried out.

"

One of the difficulties of the project is that most of the suitable plots today belong to commercial brands.

“We will have to start discussions.

We also have regulatory tools that can help us.

It will not happen overnight, ”explains Pascal Pras, vice-president of Nantes Métropole in charge of town planning.

Until August 30, residents wishing to join the citizen workshop can register.

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  • Public transport

  • Nantes

  • Trade

  • Town planning