A handful of activists Europe ecology-the Greens (EELV) took the handlebars on Wednesday afternoon, in Avignon and Montfrin, passing through Villeneuve and Roquemaure to then join Orange. The idea? Defend the little queen, and more specifically promote its daily use to go to work, the “vélotaf”.
The idea, not far from the first round of the presidential election, is to take turns to Paris by multiplying the short stages. “We do the 10 kilometers that people could do every day to go to work, since the average home-to-work journey is 9.2 kilometers”explains Dimitri Maraine, of the local committee of EELV.
However, secure cycle paths are often lacking. “The first obstacle to switching from car to bike is fear”, recognizes the activist. Because when we provide users with sufficiently wide and secure cycle paths, as between Villeneuve and Avignon, “We are seeing an explosion in the use of bicycles”, he claims, with a cascade of positive environmental and health effects. Gold, “There are big holes in Villeneuve on the way to Sauveterre and Pujaut”emphasizes Dimitri Maraine, who also regrets that “the facilities are designed for cycle tourism and not ‘vélotaf'”.
The opportunity also for activists to defend the program of their candidate Yannick Jadot on cycling, with bonuses for the acquisition of a bicycle for young people, loans of second-hand bicycles, the development of cycle paths, a pass for public transport and self-service bicycles or even, it’s not cycling but still travel, a bonus of 1,000 euros per year for drivers who carpool.
Thierry ALLARD
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