Le Figaro Bordeaux
Bordeaux is becoming more and more a cycling city, and almost all of the city’s elected officials are happy about it, but there is no city hall for municipal opposition. During a city council meeting on November 8, several elected officials criticized environmentalist Mayor Pierre Hurmick for not doing enough for cyclists, despite a 10% increase in cycling in 2021.
“There are almost no electric bikes in Bordeaux anymore.“, laments Guillaume Chaban-Delmas, city councilor of the Bordeaux Ensemble group. Selected Horizons criticizes Pierre Hurmik”gap between the ambitions displayed by (its) teams and the reality on the ground“Lament”tracks are often congested due to the success of this mode of travel“as well as many bike thefts”mostly during the day, in public places and even when bikes are attached to a fixed post or roll bar“. His group therefore requests a flash mission to find “simple and practical solutionsto these problems.
Gironde Renaissance MP Thomas Cazenave, a member of the Renouveau Bordeaux group, regrets “timid results“In 2021, only 2 kilometers of additional safe lanes, as well as “delayon pure mobility. For Anne Fahmy, selected from the same group, “+ 7 linear kilometers of bus lanes and – 8 linear kilometers of bicycle lanes, this is not normal and is not a step forward for us“.
The layout of the boulevards was criticized
Facilities already in place, such as the sustainability of bus and bicycle lanes on boulevards, are also strongly valued. Fabien Robert, of the Bordeaux Ensemble, condemns “intellectual fraudIn the repeated statement of the municipality about the reduction of the pollution of the boulevards. “The pollution of the boulevards has decreased by 30 percent, and how much has it changed in the adjacent districts?“The elected Minister of Defense asks.
To these many requests of the opposition members, Pierre Hurmik replied that he “understand (their) impatience“But judge”it is important to show that the first results are there“. About “fraud“in which Fabien Robert blames him for the drop in pollution measured on the city’s boulevards, the mayor holds back, assessing”.that the words are a little out of his mind“.
Didier Zhanjin, elected by the majority, is upset with the opposition’s pessimism, reminding that “Obviously we are not satisfied, obviously we don’t think all is well in a perfect world“but that the sharp increase in the practice of cycling in Bordeaux”invite to continue” and to “go further and, if possible, much faster“.
In a report published in the summer of 2022, the Vélo-Cité association emphasizes, however, that “the sense of comfort stagnates“Always among the Bordeaux riders. “If bike lanes are developed, therefore, they do not provide an opportunity to appease the growing number of cyclists.For Vélo-Cité, boulevards reveal these difficulties;Bordeaux’s boulevards are both the most improved areas for respondents and those in need of significant improvement. The progress of bus-bike lines installed after the ban is offset by their lack of safety and convenience“. For elected oppositionist Anne Fahmy, if it is important to support this evolution of cycling practices in the agglomeration, then it is first necessary:secure this vehicle“and”to reassure and convince all those who have not yet taken that stepby improving the infrastructure.
Source: Le Figaro
