The measure was invited into public debate at the beginning of November. And as is often the case with two-wheelers, it aroused comments, protests, incomprehension and, more rarely, some applause. At issue: the amount of the fine imposed on cyclists and users of electric scooters caught riding on sidewalks, to protect themselves from traffic or to save time. Currently, the fine amounts to 135 euros. Mathieu Klein announced in the municipal council on November 4 that he had just contacted the public prosecutor so that the fine for these offenses could be reduced. Tolerance for cyclists from a majority deemed to be very favorable to them? In any case, this is how part of the population considered the measure, forcing the mayor to be educational: “I asked the public prosecutor to adapt the fine system because its current amount in the event of flagrante delicto is too high and little used by public officials. A more proportionate fine will be used more regularly and will become more dissuasive. » A counterintuitive decision, which once again has the effect of highlighting the difficulty of tackling the issue of cycling, at a time when the city of Nancy is tense around the trolley projects or pedestrianization.
Tense debate
A debate that we find – and this is reassuring – at the national level, where many municipalities, including those which, in the hands of environmentalists, have decided to change gear on the place of cycling in the city. Grenoble, Bordeaux, or closer to us Strasbourg, do not hesitate to make cycling a political subject, because it is one. But if in the Alsatian capital the place of the little queen does not seem to be called into question, due to a record number of users in France, it is more complicated in Nancy. In our columns, Matthieu Klein recently denied being an “anti-car” mayor: “I take responsibility for my choices and I refute any caricature. Moreover, is this not to be found in choices of the past which organized cities around the individual car alone? This time is over and Nancy is reinventing itself so that pedestrians, public transport, bicycles, scooters and cars can each have their rightful place. We are in a construction phase, which exacerbates the nuisances and amplifies the discontent, but I have no doubt about the future, and about the benefits of the decisions which have been taken and which allow Nancy to be a city of 2020s and no longer a city from the 1980s.”
Towards a cycling city
Nancy, a cyclist-friendly city? This is the ambition clearly displayed in the Metropolitan Mobility Plan [P2M]which promises a 100% cycle-friendly city in 2035. Here again, we can understand it in two ways, the first which sees it as an exclusion of the car, the second, which Laurence Wieser, metropolitan councilor responsible for active mobility, defends, a way of rethinking public space: “In the idea of a cycling city, we must not believe that we are removing something, on the contrary. If we manage to convince five motorists to take their bike to work, that means five fewer cars on the roads, and that makes life easier for motorists, those who are really forced to take their car. » Still, making more room for cycling remains a real political will. If only in connection with climate change which forces us to reduce gas emissions linked to traffic. “ Until today, everyone considers themselves somewhat isolated in their own hallway. I am a motorist, or I am a cyclist, or I am a pedestrian. But we are often all three at the same time. The idea of reducing speed in town to 30 km/h is part of this reasoning by making it possible to reduce speed conflicts between bicycles and cars, for example. » Among the big points of friction, the famous locks reserved for bicycles, at the traffic lights, which are rarely respected by cars. “We must act as pedagogy, continues Laurence Wieser, but we do not intend to launch a communication campaign on the scale of the Metropolis, because in this area, they often make the mistake of dividing even more because they are considered too moralizing. »
When we talk about cycling in the city, the sacrosanct notion of a cycle path remains the justice of the peace. Since the start of Mathieu Klein's mandate, 24 kilometers of cycle paths have been created. The current majority's goal is to add 40 more to be faithful to its campaign promises. “Cycle paths are a good indicatorexplains Laurence Wieser, but we must not boil down urban cycling policy to these traffic routes alone. We must adapt on a case-by-case basis, we are not in the “all cycle path”. »
The associations involved
However, a new cycle path remains the most obvious, most visible answer and the one that will satisfy cyclists the quickest. Hadrien Fournet is spokesperson for the Eden association, very active in Nancy on environmental and mobility issues. “Since the arrival of this new majority, we have seen a real change, there is something better. We are now involved in discussions when work is planned. Recently, a public meeting on the redevelopment of rue de Verdun made it possible to return to the initial project which satisfied no one, neither the residents and their parking, nor the cyclists. The new project includes a secure track, which is what we asked for. » Dialogue would therefore have its virtues and would make it possible to advance the issue of cycling in the city. But the association leader also recognizes benefiting from a national momentum in favor of cycling: “It’s going in the right direction because the change is national in scope but also because locally there is political will, better consideration of the issues. And above all, there is now a budget for that. The situation is not perfect but better all the same. »
The involvement of associations also made it possible to anticipate the difficulties that would arise from the planned cohabitation between the trolley and cyclists, now authorized to use the platform, unlike at the time of the tram. A few weeks ago, volunteer bus drivers were able to put themselves in the shoes of cyclists. Riding their bikes, they took the paths that they will take daily at the wheel of their trolley. Thanks to a bus parked at Place Charles III, pedestrians and cyclists were also able to see the blind spots that a driver faces and which limit his visibility.
Political tensions
The coexistence of modes of travel is often the source of tensions, on the ground and in the political arena. When the mayor announced his plan to reduce fines for cyclists on the sidewalks, the reactions were quick. Valérie Debord, opposition municipal councilor, speaks of an incomprehensible decision: “This sends a rather uneducational message: incivism can be tolerated for a low price! How would a lower fine be a greater deterrent? What is needed is not to reduce sanctions, but to protect sidewalks with reinforced controls, appropriate infrastructure and a firm policy that truly takes pedestrian safety into account. Moving safely on sidewalks without fear should not be a lottery. »
From the pedestrian who opposes the cyclist, who opposes the motorist, this is what another voice in the opposition, Laurent Hénart, also denounces: “As always, this creates a very conflictual atmosphere. The motorist sees his parking ticket double while observing that of the cyclist decrease…” For the former mayor of Nancy, the recent tensions around the project to plug the Charles III tunnel reveal a policy that lacks consultation. To the point of dissatisfying around a hundred taxi drivers, worried about seeing a 300 meter long, heavily used tunnel disappear in favor of a surface cycle space. Again, car versus bike. “We have the impression that only one scenario has been studied, that there are no other solutions. This makes cycling seem dogmatic, which it should not be. I think that cyclists do not benefit from this method of forceful passage. » In any case, there is no question for Laurent Hénart of making cycling a marker of political orientation, such as: the right is against and the left is for. “In the metropolitan mobility plan, the only aspect for which we voted is that of cycling. Projects like the cycle path on rue Jeanne d'Arc or avenue de la Libération were launched by our majority. But the slowness of the developments and the communication developed around them suggest that the new majority invented everything. »
In this debate that many cities are experiencing, the budgetary question will once again serve as arbiter. The recent announcement of the abandonment by the new Barnier government of the Vélo plan launched by Élisabeth Borne could reshuffle the cards at the local level. But not enough to call into question the cycling master plan launched in 2021 by the Métropole du Grand Nancy for a cumulative amount until 2035 of more than 120 million euros. “Even without this state aid, concludes Laurence Wieser, the improvements will be made, but it will take more time, because we will have to spread out our investments. »
