A central street in Saint-Germain-en-Laye soon returned to pedestrians and traffic

Workers have been busy on this central axis of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (Yvelines) for almost three months. The final coating of the roadway should be completed shortly and it will be necessary to close the street from July 1 to July 3, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., to finalize the paving. But from July 4, rue Bonnenfant should once again open to motorists and pedestrians should be able to benefit from redesigned spaces.

In fact, the City took advantage of work to renew the gas network to start redesigning this street, as well as that of Joueries.

The desire of the municipality was to continue the requalification of the hyper center by arranging this sector like what was done a few years ago now, rue au Pain.

Disappearance of curbs

It is in this context that the Saint-Germainois using rue Bonnenfant will be able to notice the disappearance of the old sidewalk edges and the installation of paving on them.

The axis should also be the subject of vegetation with the installation ofopen ground trees as soon as possible, paying close attention to their wearing.

Hoops for bicycles and motorcycles

“We are on relatively narrow streets. This should not be too big. We choose trees called fastigiates which remain relatively narrow. These are the same type of trees that we planted on rue de Poissy. »

This requalification also provided for the disappearance of all of the parking spaces which previously existed, but the maintenance of a space for vehicles of people with reduced mobility and delivery spaces.

“It’s essential on this street,” said Élisabeth Guyard.

Saint-Germain residents will also be able to see the installation of bicycle racks and the creation of parking areas for motorcycles. The street was supposed to reopen on June 29, but the schedule was somewhat disrupted by bad weather.

Allowing the passage of an Olympic event

With this work undertaken in this rue Bonnenfant, it was also a question for the City of responding to constraints linked to the passage of a cycling event scheduled as part of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Thus, to allow the passage of the “men’s line race”, scheduled to take place in Saint-Germain-en-Laye on Saturday August 3, between 11:40 a.m. and 12:10 p.m., the City had to commit to redo the carpet of rue Bonnenfant.

It is a question of aligning itself with the specific measures of the specifications set by the International Federation.

These must guarantee the best reception and security conditions of the event, but also that the roads used will meet the requirements of international sporting regulations.

Requirements which will not be neutral for the municipality, as the mayor, Arnaud Péricard, indicated several months ago during the vote on a deliberation on the subject.

“It’s a cost that is imposed”

“When we talk about the costing of the Olympic events, we should include the indirect costs that this represents because we will, as such, have to redo the roads on rue Bonnenfant. There is also the mobilization of agents, necessary equipment, etc. So all of this has a cost and it is a cost for which we are not helped or subsidized. It is a cost that is imposed. »

To host the sporting event, the City will also have to, for example, ensure the installation of the equipment necessary to secure the courses such as police barriers and protective equipment, or mobilize its “roads and urban cleanliness” skills during the preparation of “hosting the competitions and during them”. A set of missions for which the Municipality will have to pay agents.

Interest on added value

“Obviously, this has to be counterbalanced with the Olympic dynamic and I think the interest and added value that we will have from hosting part or a section of this race in our city. »

For the people of Saint-German who are worried about the consequences of hosting this event, Marie Aguinet, the deputy mayor in charge of sports, wanted to be reassuring by specifying that Saint-Germain-en-Laye would carry special attention “to inform its populations (residents, businesses and traders) impacted by the passage of the event and the reception of spectators. »

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