Victim of its free parking, this line R station becomes “hell” for users

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It's a very simple problem to understand, but one that seems very complex to resolve for all the players involved. In fact, the only station in the area to have a parking gratuitthe train station Thomery (Seine-et-Marne), officially located in the territory of the commune of Fontainebleau, is a victim of its success. Thus, during the week, from the early hours of the morning, it is impossible to park therewhether in the 200 spaces in the “real” car park belonging to the SNCF, or along the avenue which leads to the station, located in the middle of the Fontainebleau forest. Faced with this situation, users seem helpless and decision-makers unable to find a solution.

“It became the good plan”

“Since the Covid period, many Parisians came to settle in the Fontainebleau region, which led to a population influx. As Thomery station is the only one in the area to have free parking, it has become the good plan to come and park without paying for parking,” says Rolandmember of Collective of R line users and regular at Thomery station.

And if we add to that a changed work rhythm in recent years due to teleworking, we get hell on Tuesday mornings to find a parking space.

“In many companies, Tuesday is the day you have to come to the office. So on this particular day, it's hellish and it's impossible to park after 7:30 a.m.whether in the SNCF car park, on the avenue which leads to the station and even to the surrounding avenues. In addition, for three weeks, there has been work on the sidewalks next to the station, so construction equipment has parked on site and this further reduces parking,” he explains.

In addition to the difficulty in parking, according to the collective, this situation also involves security issues : “If there is a train accident one day, I don't even know if a fire truck could get to the station. What's more, in the evening, the road leading to the station is not lit, which poses security problems in the evening,” underlines Roland.

If the collective does not wish to blame the mayor of Thomery, “who is trying to find solutions”, until now, none have borne fruit.

” In my opinion, parking should be reserved for Thomeryons. With this situation degenerating, I think we should make parking payable for residents of other municipalities and leave it free for residents,” believes this user.

We are the fifth wheel of the carriage

Well aware of the difficulties encountered by its citizens, Bruno Michelthe first aedile thomeryon recognizes that solving this problem could not be more complex.

“It’s called Thomery station, but we have very few prerogatives over it. Indeed, it is a place which is located on the territory of the city of Fontainebleau and it is also in the middle of the forest, so this also implies theNFB (National Forestry Office, editor’s note). As for the station itself, it belongs to the SNCF and to RFF (French rail network, editor’s note). So there are many stakeholders who have rights to what happens at the station, but not Thomery, even though it is Thomery station.”

However, the chosen one does not admit defeat: “ We are the fifth wheel of the carriagebut we still try to move the lines. Unfortunately, at the moment, we are not being heard much,” he regrets.

Bruno Michel notably considered for a time the creation of a shuttle system going from the city center to the station, but their implementation proves complicated.

“People want stops close to home, which is understandable. They have 6 minutes by car to go to the station, it's difficult to create a shuttle that will make 5 stops and take 25 min. We also have our own buses, but this involves significant costs, because we have to provide drivers in the morning, but also in the evening,” he insists.

“It seems unthinkable to expand the parking lot”

Concerning a potential expansion of the car park or an elevation of it on several floors, these solutions are impossible to implement according to the opinion of the actors involved.

“SNCF Gares & Connexions is fully aware of this issue which is also the subject of regular discussions with elected officials in the municipality. This car park occupies the entire SNCF area, i.e. 2,500 m². Therefore, it seems unthinkable to enlarge it or to build a new structure on several levels given the location of the site, in the heart of the Fontainebleau forest,” indicates the SNCF.

An opinion shared by the ONF: “The territory around Thomery station is placed under the status of “ protective forest » which prevents any development outside of what exists today. More concretely, this protected framework prevents any urbanization and therefore does not allow the surrounding area to be cleared to make a car park,” assures the National Forestry Office.

However, all hope is not yet lostaccording to the mayors of the municipalities concerned: “We had a recent meeting with the sub-prefect on this subject, who knows the file perfectly and who will continue to work on it to organize a meeting soon with all the stakeholders likely to be effective on this issue,” asserts Bruno Michel.

“Due to its location on the land area of ​​Fontainebleau, I was alerted to the parking difficulties at Thomery station. Steps were taken at the start of the year by the constituency MP in order to bring together all stakeholders on this issue to move forward with lasting solutions. I am of course in favor of this initiative being relaunched,” concludes, for his part, Julien Gondardmayor of Fontainebleau.

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