Restoring luster to the axis linking the cathedral to the Saint-Rémi basilica, the path taken by the 33 kings of France crowned in the city, this is the project that the city of Reims has named the way of coronations. Mayor Arnaud Robinet (Horizons) and his team have been working on the subject for several months, with great support from consultations, workshops and surveys carried out with traders, residents and residents of Rémois. The municipality has just publicly presented the metamorphosis of this major axis of the city center, the redevelopment of which should start this fall, with the archaeological excavations, and be completed at the end of 2025.
The main objective and challenge will be to offer continuity to this 2.5 km route, rich in many shops, facilities and major cultural monuments, but which, over time, has lost its status as a heritage axis in favor of a mineral and very road decor, more really in keeping with modern uses and aspirations.
Mobility was therefore placed at the heart of the project. “We felt it was important to take into account all modes of transport and users: the high-level service bus, an innovative, high-quality and ecological offer, as well as walking, bicycles, motorized vehicles and people with reduced mobility. We wanted to improve everyone’s quality of life,” boasts Catherine Vautrin, president of Grand Reims.
Fewer parking spaces
Expected in the city in 2025, the famous high-level service buses (BHLS) are wider, more modern and faster than traditional vehicles, but require major road improvements, in particular to give them priority traffic. And since the city also wants to satisfy cyclists, motorists, shopkeepers and local residents, an innovative technical solution had to be found. Traffic will therefore be shared between cars, buses and cycles, or even, in some places, reserved for the latter two.
For walkers, in addition to a 2.50 m sidewalk, an “equipped strip” of the same size will be protected along the Sacred Way, for terraces, street furniture, plantations and a few parking lots. And it is on this last point that the shoe pinches.
Some residents and traders are worried that the Gambetta-Chanzy axis, which has 179 commercial and economic activity premises, but is already quite sparing in parking, will become a little more so.
The city is counting on more quick stops and delivery stops and is still thinking about various developments in the adjacent streets to gain some parking. But she warns: “The transformed site will invite everyone to adopt the BHLS or the “central ring road” bike line to get around easily in the heart of Reims, to organize their parking differently, on the road itself and around. The Rémois will have to change their habits.
2023-06-12 12:42:02
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