What urgent measures should be taken to combat road violence and better protect cyclists? This was the purpose of the meeting organized on Wednesday between the associations Paris en saddle (whose activist Paul Varry was killed by a motorist last month), Mieux se Déplacer à Bicyclette (MDB) and two elected officials from the Parisian executive David Belliard (EELV) in charge of travel and Nicolas Nordman (PS) in charge of security.
While the emotion raised by the fatal altercation between a young cyclist and a motorist on Boulevard Malesherbes (VIIIth) on October 15 is still strong, this meeting made it possible to discuss the most dangerous sites whose development must be reviewed.
“The question of intersections was obviously at the heart of our discussions,” reports Alexis Frémeaux, president of MDB. “The main danger for cyclists is at intersections,” says Marion, spokesperson for Paris en saddle. “There is not necessarily a need to undertake heavy work each time. Light adjustments with blocks and paint can be enough if we want to make improvements quickly,” recalls the cyclist while the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo announced her desire to stop construction sites in Paris.
MDB members have already started to list, district by district, the intersections where work needs to be carried out. “There are around ten per district,” says Alexis Frémeaux.
The deputy in charge of security, Nicolas Nordman, was asked about the verbal operations carried out by the municipal police. “We really need to penalize truly dangerous infractions: speeding, failure to respect priorities on the right, parking on cycle paths, but also refusal of priority for pedestrians but for everyone: including cyclists who do not Don't stop when they should! » insists Marion from the Paris en Selle association.
David Belliard and Nicolas Nordman announced to the associations that a road safety “Grenelle” would be held in the coming weeks in Paris. Objective: bring together all stakeholders. “We will send an invitation to the police chief,” specifies David Belliard.
“He is the representative of the State and he is responsible for road safety,” recalls the representative of Paris en Selle. “It is important that all the interlocutors are brought together. We clearly saw for the Olympics that when all the players concerned worked together, the issues progressed better,” insists cycling activist Alexis Frémeaux.
