Difficulties of Annecy merchants, act III. After the main stakeholders complained of economic problems linked, according to them, to the city’s new traffic plan as well as the pedestrianization of the city center; after Alexandre Mulatier-Gachet, first deputy mayor, announced the postponement of the last phase of work in the sector for one year, it is the turn of the political group “Oui Annecy!” to express themselves on this visibly sensitive subject.
In a press release, he, who defines himself as “a minority in the majority”, says he is “sad and angry” at the decision taken by the executive. “The calming of the city and in particular of pollution-generating traffic was a key point of our proposed mandate,” recall its members. Renouncing it “betrays” it and “sabotages months of work of agents and elected officials” but also “the entire policy deployed in this area”, they assert.
“The development of pedestrian areas is a factor of attractiveness”
Marion Lafarie, deputy in charge of roads, public spaces, parking and active mobility, adds that “if the difficulties of traders are very real for some of them, [ce report] is a poor response to their problem and a very partial interpretation of the causality of these difficulties”.
The opportunity for “Oui Annecy!” to recall several important points in this area: “The development of pedestrian areas is a factor of attractiveness. Customers on foot or by bike spend the most: if they have a lower average shopping basket, they have a higher frequency of visits. Furthermore, more and more people are giving up doing their shopping in the center of Annecy because they can no longer stand the crowds and traffic jams. They aspire to calm, encouraging strolling. Finally, the national situation is complex, between a decline in purchasing power for some, the impact of e-commerce, weather and ecological concerns with increased purchasing awareness for others. This generates a change in habits visible through the closure of major brands throughout France.”
“Economic observations too rapid”
Karine Bui-Xuan Picchedda, president of the group, notes for her part that her team “does not condone this decline and is not satisfied with the first phases of pedestrianization which, in this context, have no chance of producing the expected effect . Frédérique Lardet [ndlr : maire adjointe en charge du commerce et présidente de l’Agglomération] regularly criticizes the City for confusing speed with haste, but it is this decision that is hasty! It is based on too rapid economic findings, without waiting for the positive effects of the first phases of pedestrianization, including for traders”.
And to slip one last tackle to his counterpart: “However, there remains the question of accessibility to the city center, which requires a particularly efficient public transport network. We are paying the consequences of decades of inaction and, despite the recent development of bus lines and on-demand transport, as well as incentive bus fares, the Agglomeration is significantly behind in the deployment of public transport on site. clean promised in 2020, as well as P+R (parking and relay).”
“To date, reports the press release, no PEM (Multimodal Exchange Hub) project has been started and will not be started by the end of the mandate despite certain promises. This obstacle in pedestrianization projects is therefore inconsistent with the efforts made to encourage a change in modes of transport.”
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