The Lyon Right Bank redevelopment project is entering its first phase. This Friday, June 28, transitional street furniture was installed near Place Antonin Poncet while awaiting the start of work in 2025.
The project, immense, was decried by a part of the population of Lyon and members of the opposition. This Friday, June 28, in a press release, the metropolis of Lyon announced that the redevelopment of the right bank of the Rhône has begun.
Near Place Antonin Poncet, giant frescoes have been affixed to the ground and a large shade structure has been installed on the pier. These temporary developments are complemented by other “portable public spaces”, temporary structures that can be dismantled and moved as the work progresses.
“Reconquer” the docks
For this, the company Bruit du Frigo was contacted. The public spaces installed are made from “prefabricated and reusable industrial objects such as scaffolding and containers. The Ombrières are made from industrial steel elements”, specifies the press release.
The frescoes were created by the visual artist and designer Bart Lanzini, who “draws on the elements of the renaturation project of the banks of the Rhône, to develop a poetic imagination and create a recognizable identity”.
The city and the metropolis intend to “reclaim 2.5 linear kilometers of quayside”, by reducing car traffic and transforming the length of the Presqu’île into “a garden promenade”, where pedestrians will have more space.
Two other sites affected
The developments already installed are part of the municipality’s “transitional urban planning” project.
“It participates in the process of urban transformation, with the gradual reappropriation of spaces, while complementing traditional tools of citizen participation,” it is written in the press release.
Similar street furniture will be installed in two other sites along the Rhône in the coming days: north of the Wilson Bridge and north of the Lafayette Bridge.
“The transitional arrangements are an opportunity for each Lyonnais to immediately discover this place. An opportunity to now create new uses for these spaces, so that all users can appropriate this public space, which has until now been privatized by automobile traffic alone. “, adds Raphaël Michaud, deputy mayor of Lyon responsible for the affordable, low-carbon and desirable city.
Faced with the criticism that the project has aroused, the metropolis insists on setting up new consultations, in particular on the platform jeparticipe.grandlyon.com or on July 10 during a public meeting. The work is planned for the period 2025-2030.
