• The chaucidou, otherwise known as CVCB, for “unmarked central lane roadway”, was invented in Switzerland and the Netherlands.

  • Authorized in France by a decree of 2015, it will be tested from spring 2023 by the department of Seine-Saint-Denis, on the D25 between Pierrefitte and Villetaneuse.

  • The principle: motor vehicles circulate on a central two-way lane and cyclists on the banks that the vehicles use when they pass each other.

She has a name that some will find ridiculous or cute at will: “chaucidou”.

Under this diminutive which means "roadway for soft traffic" hides a funny way, with a single axis in the middle, and strips called "banks" on the sides where bicycles can circulate.

Except that they are not cycle lanes, since cars are forced to drive over them when they pass each other.

In short, a sort of UFO in terms of mobility, which Seine-Saint-Denis intends to experiment with in May 2023, on the D25 between Pierrefitte and Villetaneuse.

The chaucidou, otherwise known as CVCB, for “unmarked central lane roadway”, was invented in Switzerland and the Netherlands.

It was then imported into France from 2015, via a modification of the Highway Code, and even tested from 2009 in the urban community of Bordeaux.

Since then, around fifty of this type of pavement have been created per region, according to Daniel Dezulier, of the VeloBuc association.

Little understood but reassuring

Its advantage is that it makes cyclists safer, according to a report by Cerema (centre for studies and expertise on risks, the environment, mobility and planning), which reports on the evaluation of three of these routes in Isère, Pas-de-Calais and Hérault.

"In the vast majority of cases, cyclists report a sharply improving level of safety," says the report, which notes a reduction in the speed of cars when crossing cyclists.

But the disadvantage is that it is not necessarily understood, and that is an understatement.

On social networks, the reactions of Internet users discovering the concept can even be very brutal: “How many deaths will their bullshit cause?

“, gets carried away @ jule7518.

“So, to avoid hitting a car in the face, we go to the side and run over a cyclist?

also comments @ian_levant.

“The operation of the CVCB seems only partially understood by motorized users, at least initially.

The commissioning may even have provoked an initial feeling of rejection, with in particular the impression for motorized users of driving in one direction” indicates the same Cerema report.


I like the name;

I'm a little more skeptical about the achievement.

#chaucidou pic.twitter.com/N7itcJ4NnR

— Greg Merly (@MerlyGre) January 6, 2023

Access to this content has been blocked to respect your choice of consent

By clicking on "

I ACCEPT

", you accept the deposit of cookies by external services and will thus have access to the content of our partners

I ACCEPT

And to better remunerate 20 Minutes, do not hesitate to accept all cookies, even for one day only, via our "I accept for today" button in the banner below.

More information on the Cookie Management Policy page.


A stopgap

It should be noted that the chaucidou, also called the masculine Chaussidou, is not a panacea.

Understand: if we can put cycle lanes and two lanes, obviously, it's preferable.

“The CVCB is only to be considered if the entire toolbox for taking cyclists into account in the public space has been examined”, sums up Cerema.

A chaucidou will also be difficult to implant when a road is very busy.

For Daniel Dezulier, "it's good up to 4,000 vehicles per day, if the vehicles are side-by-side, it can't work properly".



However, the chaucidou of Seine-Saint-Denis will be located in a way which has an average of 6,200 vehicles per day.

"It's an experiment, after a year we'll see if the development will be permanent," wants to reassure Corentin Duprey, vice-president of the Seine-Saint-Denis departmental council in charge of sustainable mobility.

Corentin Duprey also hopes that the number of motorists will reduce thanks to this road, and "assumes" to want to increase the place of cycling in the department.

“The idea is to invite everyone to be careful, motorists must slow down to meet, and if a cyclist is there, he has priority”, comments the elected official.

A philosophy shared by Daniel Dezulier: “Unconsciously this road forces you to ease off, because there is uncertainty about the fact that it will pass.

This is part of the arrangements that make it possible to calm a territory.

»

Bordeaux

The street where motorists make way for cyclists

Paris

What is this Swedish bike without pedals to rent on subscription in Paris?

  • Paris

  • Ile-de-France

  • Bike

  • Mobility

  • Transportation

  • Road

  • Road safety