It must “mark the new identity of downtown Lorient”. Rue de la Patrie will get a makeover in 2025. Its development was validated this Friday, December 20, 2024, by elected officials from the Lorient municipal council. Integrated into the “My city center tomorrow” program, this facelift will include the “complete redevelopment of the entire sector of rue de la Patrie – from Place Alsace-Lorraine to Parc Jules-Ferry – i.e. a total surface area of approximately 5,209 m²,” specifies the municipality.
A project estimated at €1.7 million
This “ambitious” development aims to “initiate the requalification of the city center” by networking the “different places of interest”, to offer a “quality” pedestrian space for this main shopping street and, finally , to offer a “pleasant, green and shaded living environment” to the people of Lorient. To do this, the majority intends to give a “new plant identity all along the street, while enhancing the businesses”. Trees in the ground will be planted, the dewatered surfaces will be enlarged, seating will be provided throughout the street, all while maintaining the terraces.
On the financial side, the cost of this project is estimated at €1,750,000 excluding tax (the city can benefit from various subsidies, notably the Green Fund). In terms of timetable, the companies will be chosen in January 2025. The work will begin in February 2025 with, initially, an operation on the drinking water networks by Lorient Agglomération. The first phase of the project – from the intersection of rue Nayel to Place Alsace-Lorraine – will last between March and July 2025. The dates of the second phase remain to be determined.
“It’s going to be complicated”
Having become completely pedestrian in December 2023, the future rue de la Patrie still worries traders. Met before the municipal council, some regretted the lack of communication from the town hall. A hairdresser, busy before the holidays, says: “Everyone is against it but no one listens to us! “. A little further on, a saleswoman is more concerned about the duration of the work. “It’s going to be complicated for us,” she says.
Town centers must evolve and work must be undertaken.
At a famous wine merchant, the story is more nuanced: “City centers must evolve and work must be undertaken. It’s also up to us to adapt.” If the majority of traders encountered this Friday morning consider that this facelift is “necessary”, some also doubt the timing. “It’s going to fall during the sales… But that’s how it is,” whispers a ready-to-wear saleswoman. “In one year of pedestrianization, I felt a drop in attendance,” sighs a jeweler who has been based in Lorient for 33 years. Customers no longer come here. For me, given the period, this work could have waited. Nothing says that in six months, we will still be here…”.
