“Sustainable development meets the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” This is the definition of sustainable development that the Mayor of Nice wants to apply in several areas. The most athletic and undoubtedly the most ecological will be the “Blue Bike,” of which 900 will be available for public use starting July 1st. By the end of 2009, you will be able to cycle on 44 km of bike lanes in Nice (29 km to date). Gambetta Avenue will connect the Promenade and the SNCF bridge. On the right bank of the Paillon, Raybaud Avenue will have a bike lane between Romaine Road and Maccario Street. Similar facilities are planned on the Victor Hugo / bd Dubouchage / des Fleurs Avenue axis, as well as on Rossini, Verdi, and Passy streets. The Chauvin Street / Blacas Street axis and des Floralies Avenue will also have their cycling lanes. Finally, the community of Saint-Laurent du Var will connect the tracks between Cagnes-sur-Mer and Nice.
But sustainable development does not stop there. The city of Nice wants to achieve energy savings on municipal buildings from 2009. The Jean Mรฉdecin swimming pool and the Nice Flore school group will be renovated and remodeled, while the leisure and activity center at Saint-Pancrace will be constructed.
Environmental quality criteria in the construction (energy label “low consumption building”) and the rehabilitation of social housing will be integrated. This “Habitat and Environment Performance” program of the city of Nice applies measures from the Grenelle Environment Forum two years in advance. 800 homes could be affected starting this year. Regarding equipment, two microturbines [mini power plants, editor’s note] will be installed by 2010 (Paillon and Plaine du Var) and a call for tenders will be launched by the end of the year to cover the greenhouse of Parc Phoenix with solar panels.
Healthy Food and Education
From the next school year, sustainable development will be introduced in primary schools. The selective collection of paper will be generalized (all educational establishments in Nice Cรดte d’Azur would practice it within 2 years) and 2,000 eco-delegates would be designated to remind their classmates of eco-friendly practices.
Several classes are currently being trained at the House of the Environment, a principle that will be repeated. To complement this, a diet made from organic agriculture and balanced will regularly fill the plates of school children (and municipal staff). The goal is also to consume local products to limit the transport of goods. The combination of these requirements is articulated in the “Eco-valley” program, which plans the development of local organic agriculture (Plaine du Var).
“Making Nice the green city of the Mediterranean”
In terms of living environment, new green spaces will be created and existing ones densified. 2009 will mark the creation of the park at Villa La Tour (Bischoffsheim Blvd), Liserons Park, and the start of work to create a Grand Park on the Observatory Hill. This last one would be made accessible by cable car from the east of the city. Finally, and in the longer term, a vast park would be created in the Plaine du Var, as well as a “real” Tripodes Park at Ariane and a “green thread” of 9 ha on the Paillon. To sustainably maintain these green spaces, nothing is better than “biological control,” which would involve, for example, the use of ladybugs.
54% of residents declare being disturbed by noise
Measures regarding nightlife establishments (insulation of the “smoking area” for example) are mentioned. Sound barriers between Saint-Augustin and Saint-Philippe are also planned, facing an ever-increasing vehicle density. To limit traffic and its polluting effects, the idea of a prefectural decree banning the circulation of transporters in the evening to streamline traffic is under study.
The push is towards electric or biogas, particularly with a policy of free parking for these vehicles in parking lots, but also by investing in charging points and renewing the public vehicle fleet.
Local and Green Jobs
100 student jobs (for 18 to 24-year-olds) will be created for this summer season. The new recruits will notably inform vacationers about eco-citizen actions in busy public places.
Concurrently, a “clean beach” action will be marked by the distribution of 50,000 ashtrays, the installation of mobile beach toilets accessible to people with disabilities, and the elimination of the distribution of plastic bags by merchants.
This philosophy is perpetuated with the launch of the “neighborhood referent for sustainable development” operation. This person would be the privileged interlocutor of the community on this theme. The goal is to stimulate the emergence of concrete actions for sustainable development, carried out by the people of Nice themselves and assisted by the city to achieve them. Next September, a competition for citizen projects will specifically be launched.
