The final obstacle to the creation of the regional recycling center has been removed in Delémont. The City Council of the Jura capital adopted this Monday evening by 22 votes to 15 and 2 abstentions a credit of 357,000 francs for the construction of a roundabout in the Prés-Roses sector. The roundabout will be built near the A16 maintenance center, on the cantonal road. The construction of the roundabout will provide access to the waste collection and recovery center, a project led by the SEOD. The Canton and the Confederation demanded the construction of a roundabout, in particular so as not to jeopardize the emergency interventions of the cantonal police which could be hampered by traffic. The variant of a four-arm roundabout was therefore chosen and law enforcement vehicles will have a special entrance. The construction of the roundabout is estimated at more than 2 million francs, in total, but the bill has been considerably reduced for Delémont. The SEOD agreed to participate directly to the tune of 435,000 francs and to grant a loan of the same amount to the city.
Lively debates before the City Council
The subject sparked intense discussions this Monday evening before the plenum of the Legislative Assembly of Lémont. The municipal councilor in charge of the file made honorable amends in the preamble. Emmanuel Koller recognized a lack of anticipation from his department but which had been repaired, according to him. He notably recalled that the roundabout – which costs more than 2 million in total – will be 80% financed by external contributions, namely those of the SEOD, the Canton and the Confederation. He also indicated that the roundabout would cost nothing to the municipal budget since the credit will be provided by two funds which are self-financed. The comments were not enough to remove all mistrust, particularly from the PLR which requested a secret ballot but without success. Only 8 votes were expressed in this sense, whereas at least 10 were needed. The entry into the matter was thus accepted by 27 votes to 12, despite the refusal of the PLR joined by the UDC and the CS- group. POP and Vert-es. The stakes were then made and the credit then passed the ramp during the retail vote. The construction of the roundabout will not only provide access to the future recycling center but also serve the entire Prés-Roses sector. Chemin des Vies-Ste-Catherine could thus, in the long term, be reserved only for pedestrians and cyclists. Work on the Prés-Roses access roundabout could begin at the beginning of next year. /fco
