Cyril arrives breathless in front of the door of the arsenal. To reach the military port every day from his Aguillon district, this sailor has hardly more than two kilometers to pedal on the handlebars of his old bicycle. But the last 600 meters, he does them thoroughly.
“On the Avenue de la République, if I don’t sprint, the cars overtake me and brush against me, he explains. Ok, I’m athletic. But between the traffic, the cobblestones and the holes, the road is dangerous.” Why not go through the city center? “Because it’s the shortest route, and my bike is a means of transport, not a walk!”
Cyril arrives breathless in front of the door of the arsenal. To reach the military port every day from his Aguillon district, this sailor has hardly more than two kilometers to pedal on the handlebars of his old bicycle. But the last 600 meters, he does them thoroughly.
“On the Avenue de la République, if I don’t sprint, the cars overtake me and brush against me, he explains. Ok, I’m athletic. But between the traffic, the cobblestones and the holes, the road is dangerous.” Why not go through the city center? “Because it’s the shortest route, and my bike is a means of transport, not a walk!”
div id=”gpt-pave-0″class=”ad-slot-container extra-space-for-ad”>
No “bis” route appreciated by cyclists
Thanks to the renovation works that the city launched this week (read elsewhere), Cyril should find a mix that is more reminiscent of the Hyères velodrome than Paris-Roubaix. On the other hand, despite a four-lane roadway for twelve meters wide, not the slightest trace of a cycle path in the project.
According to Luc de Saint-Sernin, deputy mayor in charge of roads, car traffic is far too dense. “If we add a one-meter cycle lane, we kill a lane and it becomes very complicated for traffic.” To cross the city, advises him to the amateurs of biclous to pass behind the town hall, even on the port “where bicycles are tolerated”.
A heresy for Denis Touverey, president of CIL Toulon historic center: “We understand the difficulties of the municipality. But, on the other hand, many people are already complaining about the passage of two wheels on the quays. It is very dangerous.” And forbidden.
This is what a panel placed in front of the Admiralty recalls. As well as the cyclists who had to undergo the reprimands of the municipal police. “I find it logical that the place is reserved for pedestrians”abounds Cédric Lambert, of the collective for the development of cycling in Toulon. “As for the route behind the town hall, in the direction of arsenal-Mayol, the bicycles there are in the opposite direction of the cars and must climb on the sidewalk when they cross one! The only good solution is a cycle lane on Republic Avenue.
The City has changed its mind
The City itself has long defended this idea. Ten years ago, the deputy Yannick Chenevard, then elected in charge of transport, conditioned it at the opening of the second tube. “It will allow thousands of cars to be sucked up on the surface. We can then rethink the street and give a real place to bicycles”, he announced. But a decade later, nothing. And it always takes a good dose of courage to venture on the avenue du port at the strength of the hock.
What happened for the municipality to bury the idea of a cycle lane on the main artery of Toulon? If no one says it clearly, the increase in passenger traffic to Corsica (1.5 million per year) and its influx of cars to the commercial port, especially in summer, are among the plausible explanations.
Soon remedies?
However, for activists and experts (read elsewhere), this choice is simply not legal. And to brandish the Mobility Orientation Law (LOM) which confirmed black on white, in 2019, the obligation for road managers to create “cycle routes with facilities” occasionally “construction or renovation of urban roads”. A provision that finds a growing echo before the administrative courts of France, when the Cities are recalcitrant in playing the grand prince for the Little Queen.
“With the collective, we are thinking about taking the case to court”, confirms Cédric Lambert. For its part, the Toulon Var Déplacement association has already split a “amicable appeal” with Mayor Hubert Falco. “In order to comply with the law, we ask you to implement the creation of cycle facilities as part of the renovation work on Avenue de la République”, they write. They defend the establishment of a secure track, even if it means removing a traffic lane.
In the meantime, Cyril will continue to “playing cat and mouse with cars”. And to tighten the buttocks on his saddle so as not to come to inflate the statistics of the accidentology with bicycle which exploded last year.
Eight months of work
Upgrading of manhole covers, improvement of the rainwater network, in-depth work, new pedestrian crossings, more resistant, anti-noise and anti-heat coating…: it is a brand new Avenue de la République which must be delivered in eight weeks.
This total road repair work, which has just begun, will take place mainly from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. so as not to disrupt traffic. Cost of the operation: 1.2 million euros.
What the law says
“When constructing or renovating urban roads, with the exception of motorways and expressways, cycle routes must be developed with facilities in the form of tracks, cycle lanes, greenways, meeting areas or, for single-lane one-way carriageways, markings on the ground, depending on traffic needs and constraints.”
Art. 61 of the Mobility Orientation Law (LOM)
For experts, “the site is illegal”
To Me Blanche Magarinos-Rey, lawyer in environmental law and urban planning law: “Regarding the work on Avenue de la République, we are undoubtedly at a level of road renovation that makes cycling facilities mandatory by law. The City can always argue for alternative routes or too dense car traffic, the case law of the Council of State shows that this is not enough. The site of the avenue de la République is completely illegal in my opinion, even if the file could undoubtedly be settled amicably.“
To Marie Couvrat-Desvergnes, active mobility expert at the Academy of Active Mobility Experts (Adma): “There is a sensitive point concerning the notion of “renovations” present in the LOM law. It’s not really defined. But almost everywhere in France, certain projects in town, similar to that of Toulon, have been challenged at the administrative court (TA) because they did not take into account the obligation of cycling facilities. With the LOM law, civil society is increasingly able to assert its rights in terms of mobility.“
To Zoé Dupont-Vallée, legal officer for the French Federation of Bicycle Users (FUB): “From what extent of road renovation should we put in place cycling facilities? It is a notion on which communities play. Except that the case law has decided: if it is indeed substantial work, on a central urban road, like here on the avenue de la République, then yes, there is an obligation for cycle facilities. Since 2019 and the LOM law, which complements the Laure law (1996), there are fewer possibilities for communities to escape.”
