The day after his fourth convention, which focused on proximity, parking, cleanliness, and security, Mayor Christian Estrosi met on the 7th floor of the Grand Hotel Aston for his fifth conference. The closeness in dates is due to the interlinked nature of the topics discussed.
After covering health, economy, culture, and last Wednesday’s proximity, parking, cleanliness, and security, Christian Estrosi led his fifth convention yesterday, which focused on housing, planning, and sustainable development.
After extensively recalling the work done over the past 6 years, the outgoing mayor confirmed that his projects for a second term are a continuation of his 2008 program. He also wishes to anticipate the horizon for 2020 in what has become “the first metropolis of France.”
Here are the 15 proposals:
1 – Develop a new extension of the Promenade du Paillon north of the Palais des Expositions. Work on its two ends and reconfigure the entrance to Nice.
2 – Preserve the hills by enforcing low-density and limited rules. The densification of housing in the hills must stop. The other two priority projects will be roadworks and high-speed internet, possibly even fiber optics.
3 – Expand the intervention perimeter of the city, such as subsidies for facades, support for commerce, to the northern part of the Musicians’ district, up to Boulevard Gambetta, and have Avenue Thiers redeveloped into a high-quality urban space.
4 – Redevelop the entire coastline, including the Château Park, reopening the rooftop promenades of the Ponchettes terraces, and redeveloping the entire Promenade. Launch an international architectural competition to plan its total redevelopment, in connection with tram line 2 and traffic changes.
5 – Reduce the carbon monoxide level by 20% on the city’s main roads by 2020. Implement informational panels about this level, with messages encouraging speed reduction when peaks are expected.
6 – Measures concerning soft modes of travel: Increase the mileage of dedicated bike paths, electric-assisted bikes, municipal carpooling portal, and aim to have 100% of the city and metropolitan automobile fleet be electric or hybrid by 2020.
7 – Create a single Mobility card usable for blue cars, blue bikes, parking lots, and public transport. Eventually use smartphones to pay at the terminals of each of these services.
8 – Internalize the SEMIACS activities to achieve more transparency and better coordination of parking management.
9 – Reinstall a number of drinking water fountains in public spaces. Combat wastefulness. Create a number of shared vegetable gardens.
10 – Publish an annual document accounting for the ecological footprint of municipal actions.
11 – Create a Metropolitan Energy Performance Agency.
12 – Revive the Ornament Council, which will review real estate projects before building permits are submitted to ensure their proper integration into the neighborhood environment, consistency with needs, or aesthetic quality. Renew local architectural creativity.
13 – Create a resident’s house that will assist and inform social housing applicants, welcome private owners wishing to refurbish their properties, and provide information about marketed social and intermediate ownership programs.
14 – Develop a new form of suitable and supportive housing. The targets are seniors, disabled persons, students, apprentices, and employees. Propose co-habitation housing for young people and isolated elderly persons.
15 – Create a “City of Nice” accession label, which will provide direct assistance to first-time home buyers to acquire a new home in labeled programs. A label that will also allow land discounts, enabling the production of affordable home ownership.
Christian Estrosi concluded by recalling that no mayor had been elected with an absolute majority since 31 years ago, with Jacques Médecin in 1983. An objective he aspires to achieve this coming March?
