In the shade of the pine trees of Paradis Saint-Roch, Daoud strives to wind his arms under the encouragement of the instructor from the local sports department, Bruno Gosioso. In front of him, his plugged-in phone recharges as he exerts himself. Ten calories burned for approximately 10% battery saved. The ratio is rather good and the equipment, installed a few days ago, “ makes you want to play sports, it’s close to home and very accessible », underlines Nelha, facilitator within the social center.
The young man has followed the project since its infancy. It was his group which proposed installing two bicycle chargers in the heart of Paradis Saint-Roch in 2022, during an assembly of “Paroles de Jeunes”, a participatory body relaunched after the Covid-19 health crisis which allows adolescents to challenge professionals and elected officials on issues that concern them. “ We meet them at their home, they tell us how they see life and how to improve it, then we form working groups based on the themes covered.explains Florian Salazar-Martin, deputy mayor responsible for sustainable cities, culture and the environment (PCF). Then, we let them lead the proposals they make to us by accompanying them. » For this project, the City mobilized youth and sports services and invested 9,000 euros.
Arrange spaces to make them attractive
Nelha welcomes this device.
« It gives the impression that we are being listened to, he confides. We asked for a synthetic field to play football, we got it. There, we have connected bikes. We were told that pull-up bars were going to be installed… We feel heard. »
But the benefit of such an installation goes beyond dialogue with young people. “ We set up these two bikes in a no man’s land ideally located in the shade and away from the road, constate Florian Salazar-Martin. This item is not just for teenagers. It’s a way of recreating a common living space in the neighborhood. I like this idea of furnishing little by little, of developing based on the uses of the inhabitants. All this is interesting because we are reworking public space in a contributory way. »
Located at the foot of the C12 building, the land has not finished its transformation. In a few weeks, a swing will be installed and by next summer, pull-up bars and outdoor sports equipment should find their place alongside the connected bikes. “ We need activities to dress up the place, make it fun and more attractive, appuie Bruno Gosioso. There are bars in all neighborhoods, here it was the last one where there was nothing, where young people had no place to do activities.
physique. » This is no longer the case.
