This Friday morning, around fifty people blocked the entrances to the Métropole headquarters in Grenoble. They are protesting against the redevelopment project for rue Jeanne d'Arc which notably provides for the removal of parking spaces, which makes traders fear a drop in footfall.
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Several dozen people gathered with banners and smoke bombs this Friday, November 8 in the morning, in front of the headquarters of the Grenoble Metropolis, where a metropolitan council was to begin at 10 a.m. People from the collective “Don’t touch my place” protested against the redevelopment project for Avenue Jeanne d’Arc, supported by the City and the Metropolis.
This project notably provides for wider sidewalks, a two-way cycle path, a roadway allowing buses to cross, but also the removal of 120 parking spaces out of the 180 existing.
Some residents are worried about the elimination of these places: “Removing parking spaces is terrible, because there is no alternative in the neighborhood to park in a parking lot that works, you have to go almost two kilometers,” deplores Jean-Marc Usseglio, resident of the avenue for 42 years. “No more buses after 8:30 p.m., no more parking spaces… We are killing the social life of each individual, we are killing collective social life. It is an absurd, expensive and completely unsuitable project.”
This project is also unthinkable for certain street traders who, for their part, fear a drastic drop in their turnover: “70%, even 90%, of my customers come by car, either on their way to work or on their way home in the evening. So if there are no parking spaces, they will no longer stop at my place “There is another tobacco shop which is not very far from my business so there is a good chance that I will have to close my tobacco shop.”deplores Jessica Sethi, tobacconist on Avenue Jeanne d’Arc.
For the City of Grenoble, this rehabilitation is necessary to promote travel and fight against air pollution: “We are going to improve all mobility, says Gilles Namur, deputy mayor of Grenoble in charge of public spaces and mobility. The sidewalks will be wider, more comfortable, compatible with PMR access. And we will finally allow cyclists to ride on this street, because today they cannot. On the other hand, there is no magic wand, we cannot maintain parking. Especially since there is a lot of parking on this street, it takes up a lot of space. We cannot maintain parking, and make sidewalks wide and plant trees.”
For their part, the members of the collective point out that they are not against a project to rehabilitate the avenue.
Although the project is still likely to be slightly modified, work must begin in January 2025 for a duration of four years and an estimated cost of 6 million euros.
