Narbonne. The obstacle course of Jacques, 79 years old, to get around

Jacques, 79 years old, lives in a peaceful residential area at the gates of the city center of Narbonne. Between Boulevard Gambetta and Avenue Maréchal-Juin, life is quite good in the streets lined with buildings and houses with gardens. The picture would be perfect if man, with reduced mobility, did not encounter so many obstacles during his daily walks. “I have prostheses in each knee. I get around with a cane and I have to walk every day. But it’s complicated to get around on the sidewalks which are often crowded.”

Garbage bins and electrical poles on the sidewalks

Jacques thus talks about garbage containers whose location is sometimes fixed on the sidewalks and not on the road. “It’s annoying for pedestrians, and even more so for a person in a wheelchair or for a mother with a stroller: we are therefore forced to go down onto the road, it is poorly designed.” The problem presents itself at several intersections, between rue Louis-Courrier and rue Fabre-d’Eglantine, rue Jacquard, rue Aldy. Another difficulty is the presence of electric poles, directly on the already narrow sidewalks. Here too, the phenomenon is recurring. Rue Félix-Aldy, against the bowling alley, there is even a row of three pylons. Along the way, Jacques takes the opportunity to denounce a recent development in rue Louis-Courrier at the exit of a house: the sidewalk has been lowered, “but the edges are not leveled, it does not seem up to standard”, and above all “I risk falling every time I pass by because I stumble with my cane.”

Cleanliness, sidewalks and zebra crossings

The senior also regrets “the lack of cleanliness: the sweeper and the agents come once a week, but the cleaning stops at rue du Bois Rolland. Then, up to boulevard Maréchal-Juin, it is the wind that cleans and pushes dirt Indeed, as there are often cars parked on the sidewalks on both sides (like on rue Rodin), we cannot pass the high pressure jet on the sidewalks and it is only possible to clean. the middle of the pavement”. Further on Avenue du Maréchal-Juin, the low wall of a private residence almost collapses onto the sidewalk. “and on the feet of pedestrians”. Or this zebra crossing “which is completely covered in a puddle when it rains”.

From then on, Jacques’ daily outings often transformed “on an obstacle course”. Which arouses a touch of annoyance in him, and above all “the feeling of being a little forgotten”.