Face to face: for or against the Mont-Blanc footbridge?

The people of Geneva will be asked to vote on November 24 on the creation of a pedestrian bridge, upstream of the Mont-Blanc bridge. This project, estimated at 55 million francs, finds here a favorable voice, that of MP Marjorie de Chastonay, and another hostile one, that of the guardian of built heritage, Professor Leïla El-Wakil.

Yes to the Mont-Blanc pedestrian bridge

On November 24, the population of the City of Geneva will vote on the creation of the Mont-Blanc pedestrian bridge. Supported by a large cross-party committee and numerous mobility and professional associations, this unifying project offers a concrete response to the needs of pedestrians and cyclists.

The Mont-Blanc bridge, now saturated, is poorly suited to pedestrians and cyclists. On the one hand, the numerous pedestrians, residents, families and tourists move forward, more than they wander, tightly packed on the sidewalk upstream of the bridge, on the other hand, the cyclists, crowding onto a one-way micro cycle path. By offering a footbridge dedicated solely to pedestrians, it is a secure and comfortable space on a daily basis which is offered to the population whose investment is shared by the City (26 million), the Canton, the Confederation and a private foundation. More safety and comfort for everyone!

The current cohabitation between pedestrians and cyclists increases the risk of accidents. The footbridge separates flows and guarantees safe crossing of the bridge. This improvement is essential for a city like Geneva, where the number of cyclists has exploded and where 40% of the population uses walking as a means of transportation. More than 15,000 pedestrians cross the Mont-Blanc bridge every day.

With the footbridge, Geneva can finally complete the famous cycle “U” around the harbor by offering a bidirectional and continuous cycle path. This secure circuit further encourages active mobility, while becoming a popular place for walks for locals and tourists. Geneva thus strengthens its commitment to a greener and more sustainable city.

The footbridge is therefore much more than a simple passageway. With breathtaking views of the harbor, it becomes a place of meeting and conviviality in the heart of the city. The facilities (access and benches all along the walkway) are designed to be accessible to everyone, including people with reduced mobility, ensuring an inclusive space for all Genevans. The footbridge is a first step in favor of active mobility, even if we, the Greens, will continue to fight for the creation of an additional lane for buses on the Mont-Blanc bridge.

The broad political and associative support for the footbridge testifies to the extent of the consensus around this project, because it responds to a real need.

On November 24, voting yes to the Mont-Blanc pedestrian bridge means making a choice for a safer, more friendly and sustainable city and offering a concrete response to the challenges of mobility while creating a new emblematic space in the heart of Geneva.

An inappropriate and expensive bridge

In 1982, at the request of Aspic (today Pro Velo), the Bergues bridge, until then intended for all types of traffic, was closed to cars and was reserved exclusively for bicycles, pedestrians and other gentle mobility. Today, it is still a preferred route used by many cyclists to cross the city from one bank to the other.

In 2011, a SIA 142 project competition for a pedestrian/cyclist crossing of Geneva harbor was launched by the City of Geneva. Of the 51 candidates selected, the project of Pierre-Alain Dupraz and Ingeni SA, caught in the second round of the repechage, ended up winning. Eleven years pass before it emerges from the dusty drawers of the administration to be adopted by the Municipal Council in the spring of 2024.

The cost in the meantime has taken the elevator and we articulate the sum of 58 million (studies included), a truly exorbitant amount to which will be added, as always, the inevitable budget overruns due to unforeseen circumstances. ! Wrongly titled “footbridge”, since it is 3 m wide so that firefighters can access it, this bridge intended for pedestrians will erect the visual barrier of its continuous steel wall with a height of 1.50 m: this new intruder massive will constitute an indelible obstacle cutting off the city from its lake.

The harbor is, however, protected by a site plan adopted in 1978, most recently modified in 2020. This system “aims to preserve the historical and architectural character of the buildings and complexes located on the quay front, the harbor and adjoining squares. » The concern to perpetuate an emblematic image is the safeguard which should have prevented the very idea of ​​this foreign body, even if it were a contemporary engineering acrobatics!

We recognize in the argument of the competition program the paw of the green nomenklatura, which swears energy saving, strips away the bitumen and lies down in front of “soft mobility” to which it dedicates a so-called highway, called “Lacustre U”! Municipal ecology in no way questions the carbon impact of this future bridge requiring 1,500 tonnes of steel and processions of concrete mixers, nor does it take into consideration the principle of parsimony, which, in this critical moment of climate change, must also dictate collective behavior.

The fictional scenario of this project foresees that cyclists will benefit from a two-way cycle lane on the upstream side of the Mont-Blanc bridge. Did we even anticipate the chaos at the exit to the English Garden, at the height of the National Monument and the Flower Clock? How can we guarantee the safety of walkers, tourists and other users of the English Garden when the flow of two-wheelers arrives? There the utopian U of the much-vaunted future bicycle highway will inevitably break.

Adding the Mont-Blanc footbridge, this snub to the face of the harbor, is equivalent to delivering the final blow to Geneva’s legendary lake landscape. Let’s be wise enough to refuse expensive, inappropriate and useless equipment! Let’s firmly say no to this superfluous bridge!

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