The initiative may surprise you. While the Departmental Council has accelerated its bicycle plan for the period 2023 – 2028 with its RCID (Cycle Network of Departmental Interest), the community is preparing a new document, the Departmental Cycle Master Plan (SDDC).
According to Alex Fortin-Larivière, it will not be a question of saying the same thing twice but also of compiling data from other communities (municipalities and intercommunalities) and going beyond 2028. “This document will be intended to go beyond the current mandate, regardless of the elected officials and services who work on it. »
A survey from Monday 21
The vice-president for mobility makes no secret of it: it is also about obtaining funding from state agencies, even from Europe. “The SDDC is not obligatory but we will not have funding from an agency like Ademe (Editor’s note: environment agency) without it. »
The Manchois, “cyclists or not”are therefore invited to respond to an online survey, from October 21 to November 30, 2024. Workshops will also be organized from December 3 to 5, 2024 in Valognes, Coutances and Avranches. A register will also be opened at the Department House in Saint-Lô. All this work will be aimed “to arrive at an action program in the second half of 2025”.
“The tracks already exist”
This is an opportunity for the Department to reiterate its method, based on shared roads and the transition to greenways (transit roads) of small departmental roads. Based on the experiences of Saint-Sauveur-Villages and Dragey-Ronthon, the Department reports a significant drop in speed and the virtual disappearance of heavy goods vehicles.
“It’s more virtuous to use what already exists. The cycle paths of tomorrow already exist, the question is how we cut them out and how it is accepted by the population. » Alex Fortin-Larivière also insists on the notion of a shared soft path. “ Cycling represents 3% of trips in the Channel. Pedestrians are 27%. My objective is not to develop the bicycle but to provide alternatives to the car. »
