Tthree volunteers from the Roue libre en Grand Dax association were present this Tuesday, November 19 at the gates of the Haroun-Tazieff high school in Saint-Paul-lès-Dax. As part of the “My establishment by bike” operation, from November 15 to 29, they tour six middle and high schools in the city in order to raise awareness among young cyclists of good practices. “With the time change, it is important to ensure that they have all the equipment necessary for their safety,” explains Léna Pacher, one of the volunteers. His association has purchased around thirty lighting kits which it distributes to young cyclists whose equipment is worn out or simply missing.
Since its creation four years ago, Roue libre en Grand Dax has worked to promote the use of bicycles in the urban area. For Jean-Marc Peluchon, these awareness campaigns are an essential part of the work to be carried out to encourage more people to abandon the car. “Many cyclists complain about other users, but it’s also up to us to do our part to respect the rules,” declares the volunteer, who has been cycling for over forty years.
A lack of planning
That morning in front of the high school, three national police officers, as well as Cédric Garnichon, head of the municipal police of Saint-Paul-lès-Dax, stood alongside the volunteers. An essential presence according to the municipal agent who notes an increase in incivility on the road.
What worries him is in particular the behavior of electric scooter drivers. “Being behind the handlebars of one of these machines gives you a feeling of freedom that can encourage you to do anything,” says Cédric Garnichon. Next to him, Jean-Marc Peluchon nuances: “If scooters end up on the sidewalks, it is because of a lack of suitable equipment. »
Cohabiting with other road users calls for everyone's responsibility according to Gilles Mercadal, founder of the Roue libre en Grand Dax association.
Amaury Dollez
Roule libre en Grand Dax, which works closely with the services of the urban community, campaigns for new cycling developments to be carried out in the area. For Gilles Mercadal, founder and treasurer of the association, “we cannot deny that there are things that are not going well”. The existing spaces in the urban area have a certain number of defects which, according to him, contribute to creating conflicts between users.
“Some cycle spaces on sidewalks are not suitable because they put cyclists in direct conflict with pedestrians. » He also points out the various discontinuities that exist between the city's cycle paths which, according to him, “encourage cyclists to be incivil”.
Better share the road
Last June, the urban community launched construction work on a major 14.8 kilometer cycle path linking Saint-Paul-lès-Dax, Mées, Angoumé and Rivière-Saas-et-Gourby. A laudable project according to Gilles Marcadal but which also symbolizes all the difficulties that exist in the territory. The manager wants to be lucid: “We must understand that we will never be able to do in Dax what is done in Bordeaux or Grenoble, we do not have the financial means to create major cycle paths throughout the territory , nor the room to create cycle lanes throughout the city center,” he says.
According to him, to encourage more people to take up cycling, it is the quality rather than the quantity of equipment that must be reviewed. “We must also carry out a global reflection on the public transport network and promote intermodality, adapting it to our semi-rural territory,” adds the man.
The Roue libre en Grand Dax association predicts that there will be more and more cyclists on the roads of the city in the coming years. Raising everyone's awareness of safety issues is therefore essential to promote better road sharing. “We tend to think that development will provide a solution to all the problems, but we must first educate users, cyclists and motorists, in good practices,” emphasizes Gilles Mercadal.
To do this, the association is increasing prevention actions and learning courses so that each cyclist can ride in complete safety and with a single objective: to pay attention to others in order to better pay attention to themselves.
