Since 2017, the Tilsitt and Joffre quays have held the sad record of 25 accidents, including three fatalities, the last of which occurred this summer. Under popular pressure, and in consultation, the Metropolis proposed a secure redevelopment of the roads.
The tragedy had deeply moved Lyon. On August 22, 2022, Iris and Warren, 15 and 17 years old, were mowed down by an ambulance, on Quai Maréchal Joffre (2nd arr.), in Lyon. while they were riding a scooter, on the shared “bike bus” lane.
Questioned several times by the parents of the two teenagers and then, in the process, by residents and local residents’ associations, the Metropolis ended up installing, urgently, in July 2023, a concrete separator, “transitional”demarcating the “mixed lane” from that reserved for cars. Under pressure, the Metropolis then began, at the end of 2023, a “shared diagnosis” with resident groups and neighborhood associations in order to “identify the needs and points of attention for a new development”. Two workshops “co-construction of scenes” was organized on February 7 and 8. A public consultation, from March 12 to 31, concluded the process. Nearly 530 people gave their opinion.
However, the “safety barrier” had not prevented another fatal accident. On June 11, Camille, a 20-year-old cyclist, was hit by a driver, drunk and speeding, in the same place, in the same corridor. In critical condition, she died a few days later.
Read also: Bus-bike corridors in Lyon: “will it take an elected official to lose a child for it to have an impact?!”
It is in this particularly tense climate, charged with three fatal accidents, that Friday September 27, in front of around fifty people, mainly residents of the Tilsitt and Joffre quays, gathered in a lecture hall of the Catholic faculty of Lyon, the Metropolis presented the scenario chosen for the future development of the quays.
“You hope for the work to be completed by the end of 2025… But until then, soft modes will still not be secure. Will there be another Iris, another Warren, another Camille?! “
Laure Cédat, mother of Iris
On the 800 meters of the axis, a cycle path, separated from the bus lane and the car lane, will be created in the North-South direction, in the direction of traffic. “In addition, the route for cyclists on rue Vaubecour will be reinforced in the south-north direction” specifies the Metropolis. The sidewalks, on the facade side and on the Saône side, will be maintained, as will the parking spaces, along the buildings, a very strong desire expressed by the residents.
The project also plans new developments to reduce traffic speed with the creation of five raised platforms, “in shot-blasted coating which appears whiter than the roadway for a more visible perception” explain the services of the Metropolis. Pedestrian accessibility will also be maintained and reinforced with the creation of three new crossings. “Is a pedestrian crossing every 100 meters.”
If the project was generally validated by all resident groups and neighborhood associations, and the mayor (LR) of the 2nd arrondissement, Pierre Olivier – “the equation was not simple but what was presented seems to me to be a suitable scenario” -, some concerns have arisen over details. The Metropolis has promised to “get back to working time”also wishing to make it known that this public consultation was not a legal obligation and that it was a “voluntary approach”.
After the design of the project, submitted for approval to the prefecture and Bâtiments de France, the work should begin from the summer of 2025.
On site, Laure Cédat, mother of Iris, was surprised: “you hope the work will be completed by the end of 2025… But until then, soft modes will still not be secure. Will there be another Iris, another Warren, another Camille?! “
