The 1970s in Metz were (already) full of contradictions. The consumer society made the pair with Metz the merchant. Motorists could circulate throughout the city and park almost in all the large squares of the city.
But at the same time, residents, users and traders raged against traffic jams and the lack of parking spaces. The first paid places were, Place Saint-Louis in 1970, to promote rotation. However, their creation aroused the strongest protests from users and traders. Especially since from that date, parking meters and parking meters have multiplied …
During his thirty-three years in office, Jean-Marie Rausch led what he himself called “a fight to gain recognition. [sa] traffic policy and especially for pedestrian access ”. The history of Place d’Armes is a very good illustration of this.
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In the Lorraine Republican of February 24, 1976, the car is called into question: “Cars today constitute a permanent attack on the quality of our life. Invasive, bulky, polluting, they are everywhere, ”describes journalist Georges Simonin. “Of course, no question of depriving motorists of their cars. They are part of their life ”. But “imagine, for example, as in Nancy, Place Stanislas (1), freed from its sea of cars, Place d’Armes and Place Saint-Thiébault returned to their original vocation. We find ourselves in the heart of the city, the long forgotten taste of the walk […] It is not a dream ! “
Indeed, on December 16, 1975, the city council decided to build an underground car park under the covered market. This operation has a specific goal: to create a parking lot to pedestrianize the Place d’Armes, the market square and the surrounding streets.
The construction and operation of the garage were entrusted to GTM (Grands Travaux de Marseille) for 10 MF (HT).
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The RL of December 17, 1976 is admiring: “The work lasted only nine months: it is an absolute record! Two out of four levels were then open, ie 200 places (out of a total of 387 operational two months later).
On December 20, 1976, the mayor was already cutting the cord. “This operation aims to free the city center of its cars and to return it, in part, to its inhabitants. We want to bring out the beauty of spaces returned to pedestrians, ”he repeated. Before announcing the “real” good news in Messins preparing for Christmas: the 200 open places would be free for one month!
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After that, the cars were driven from Place d’Armes. From 1977, PV hit all the windshields of recalcitrant motorists. On the town hall square, there is no question of setting a bad example. The married ones ? Starting in 1978, they obtained free parking for one hour, enough time to say yes… but on Place Saint-Etienne. As for tourists, it was the same price as for Messins: a ticket!
It was only at Christmas that the measure was relaxed with authorized parking at places d’Armes and Saint-Etienne in December. But beware, the gift was not free: to park between the town hall and the cathedral, you had to give your coin!
(1) In Nancy, 600 cars were parked every day on Place Stanislas until 1983 when it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It will be redone in 2005 and will become entirely pedestrianized.
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