Pierre Maudet: “On mobility, we risk a sevenfold coronary bypass within ten years” – rts.ch

52.7% of the Swiss refused funding to extend the motorways and the canton of Geneva, although directly concerned, with the possibility of having a third motorway lane between Nyon and Le Vengeron, followed the majority, with 57.1% no.

>> Read also: Highways: those first concerned often did not want them

“The people of Geneva suffer from traffic jams like the other cantons, but they judged this project to be inconsistent or too costly. I regret this, because the Council of State was committed to this project, as it is generally committed to the “extension and widening of the bypass highway But the people always have the last word. We must therefore resume our work”, explained Pierre Maudet on Monday in La Matinale.

But for the State Councilor in charge of Mobility, solutions will have to be found in any case, because the question of mobility is not about to disappear. For him, the project refused by the people would have had effects in the next ten, fifteen years, but it would have been “only a stent, to use a medical metaphor”. By refusing it, we now risk “a sevenfold coronary bypass operation within ten years if we do nothing”, he analyzes.

>> Read also: The Swiss say “no” to the extension of six motorway sections

Temporary solutions… and insufficient

To temporarily improve the situation, Pierre Maudet mentions the use of emergency lanes, as already exists in Morges, or favoring carpooling in certain areas. He recognizes, however, that this “tinkering” will not resolve the basic problems. “Today we have a problem with arrhythmia: certain hours and certain segments are completely saturated. These small solutions, although necessary in the short term, cannot be enough. A global vision is essential,” he assures.

A vision that involves rethinking priorities between road and rail infrastructure. “We have too often opposed rail and road. However, the two must be complementary,” he adds.

A context of mistrust and crisis

Pierre Maudet places this vote in a national climate marked by distrust and economic concerns. “Today, people are looking for reassurance, whether about their jobs or their purchasing power. In this context, the financial argument, with an estimated cost of 5 billion francs, undoubtedly weighed heavily” , he explains.

According to him, this rejection is also part of a broader debate on growth: “In fact, there is a toll, particularly at the entrance to urban areas, which exists. And we do not pay this toll financially with money, but with time And this reality also costs the economy and those who make a living from their activity.”

The Geneva elected official also believes that we have “evacuated a lot of the debate on the traffic of goods, which is a reality on our roads. This reality costs the economy a lot. I believe that the message that came out, is that from now on, we perhaps need to think about roads, rail, structuring axes (…) before development. This is a prerequisite.

No end to road projects

Despite the setback of the vote, Pierre Maudet refuses to consider this result as a rejection. In particular, he calls for caution in the face of certain reactions from politicians. “That figures like Gerhard Pfister or Marcel Dettling talk about reprisals against the cantons opposed to these projects, that bothers me. This does not correspond at all to the DNA of Switzerland. I see more and more votes which lead to very hard fronts, with logic of reprisals I find this very clumsy and I think that this is not how our country will move forward,” he comments.

For him, the refusal of this motorway extension should not be seen as a definitive no to any road project. “Obviously there are road projects that will be developed.” And to cite the Villars-Sainte-Croix (VD) interchange or the rest of the Geneva bypass motorway, “which in principle have already acquired funding and which there is no question of calling into question” .

Comments collected by Delphine Gendre

Adaptation web: Tristan Hertig