In order to prevent vehicles from mistakenly taking the pedestrian path which leads to the Pahin school group bringing together the Crayon de Couleur nursery school and the Pablo Picasso elementary school, three metal posts have been positioned at the right of the pedestrian crossing crossing rue Velasquez. Their bright color (blue, yellow and orange) allows them to be clearly seen, like the barriers and other posts installed for some time between the pedestrian zone and the car parks adjoining the pedestrian walkway.
Beyond an installation which meets a need to secure an area of vulnerable users, such iron posts installed on a passage on which pedestrians and children on bicycles travel represent a danger in the event of a collision. A number of cyclists’ associations in various French municipalities have warned of the dangers of such devices installed on cycle paths. In the morning at rush hour, bicycles and pedestrians cross paths in large numbers at this location having to juggle with the presence of these poles. “I almost hit the poles several times,” explains this young cyclist who prefers to go to school by bike rather than by car.
Plastic posts, although less durable over time and certainly less aesthetic, would partly reduce the danger. On the other hand, the installation of three posts in this space drastically reduces the passage space. Two posts would certainly have been sufficient to prevent the intrusion of vehicles into this space while maintaining privileged access for users. These poles more generally raise the question of the security of access to the school for the most vulnerable users (pedestrians and cyclists) in species where all modes of transport intersect.
The town hall questioned on the subject has not yet responded on the choice of this installation. A question also asked concerns the possibility of quickly removing the poles to allow emergency vehicle interventions as well as access to maintenance vehicles transporting equipment.
