The town of Rosans, on the border between Hautes-Alpes and Drôme, has been undergoing work carried out by the latter neighboring department since November 12. To the point of endangering the economic activity of all the village's traders.
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In recent weeks, cars have become increasingly rare in the small village of Rosans (Hautes-Alpes), in the heart of the Baronnies Provençales Regional Natural Park. “When we come to the bakery, normally, there are always a few people, but this time I have come several times and I am alone“, remarks a resident of the village.
The cause is simple road diversion signs put in place by the neighboring department of Drôme. They invite passing motorists to largely bypass the town due to work on the RD94, the main route serving the village.
This project, started on November 12 and planned for six months near the town of Villeperdrix (Drôme), follows the fatal landslide that occurred in the area last August.
► ALSO READ: Landslide on a departmental road in Drôme Provençale: a woman dies in her vehicle
After emergency work carried out for two weeks following this tragedy, the road was reopened with certain passages where the roadway was reduced to one lane. Finally, the Drôme department decided to undertake security work in five sectors considered at risk around the site of the landslide, by closing the RD94 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. during the week only.
And this is where the heart of the problem lies for the traders and residents of Rosans, who are seeking to make it known that the main service route to the town is not permanently closed. All deplore the signage installed for the work, according to them installed on the Hautes-Alpes side by the general council of Drôme, without any consultation between the two departments.
Road closure times are rarely indicated.
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© Lucie Robert / France Télévisions
“The signs are neither relevant, nor well thought out, or sometimes even wrong“, denounces Lionel Tardy, the mayor (SE) of the town, who calls for better communication. “Some say 'turn around' without mentioning the opening hours of the said road“, according to him. In addition, navigation applications, such as Google Maps or Waze, would display the road constantly closed, without ever integrating work schedules.
As a result, almost all motorists take the proposed detour which completely avoids Rosans, “via the Col de Cabre“, specifies Armin Gossiaux, baker-pastry chef in the town. With very concrete consequences on the turnover of his company: “It's very complicated, there are days when we make 350 euros in turnover instead of 900 from our two bakeries“.
The Rosanais artisan believes that another diversion is possible, to have less impact on the economic activity of his commune, via the Soubeyrand pass. This diversion had already been put in place for the first time this summer, during emergency work after the landslide.
The Drôme services no longer respond and don't care
Armin GossiauxBaker – “La Rosanaise” in Rosans (Hautes-Alpes)
But now, “oIt tells us that the Col de Soubeyran cannot accommodate the traffic of the RD94 even though it did so very well this summer“, deplores Armin Gossiaux, who does not understand why there was no “study on the economic impact of this closure on traders and artisans“.
Without any news from the Drôme services, “who no longer respond and who don't care“, a meeting was held this Tuesday, December 3 via the association of traders and artisans of Rosanais, according to the baker. Present were the mayor of Rosans Lionel Tardy, also deputy of the deputy Marie-José Allemand (socialist-NFP ), but also Gérard Tenoux, who came to bring the support of the Hautes-Alpes department to the cause, as departmental advisor.
“This meeting led to the creation of a collective“, who should mobilize more in the coming days to try to find a solution to the problem. Otherwise, “despite the slow period“, getting through the winter will be difficult, warns Loïc Agniel, manager of a bar in Rosans. Neighboring ski resorts could also suffer the consequences of the work on the RD94: it was announced that the axis would be closed to traffic throughout the winter holidays.
