The ecologist Laurent Lanquar-Castel is adamant: “No to heated terraces in winter, but yes, a thousand times yes to summer terraces with greenery! Let’s reclaim public space. By implementing green or tree-lined terraces, shopkeepers are doubly rewarded, benefiting from natural cooling and insulation against pollution and noise.”
Indeed, many citizens were eagerly awaiting the reopening of cafes, bars, and restaurants on June 2nd for the department (located in the green zone) as announced last week by the Prime Minister.
For Laurent Lanquar-Castel: “Today, municipal authorities only see terraces as a lucrative rental activity with its corollary of authoritative control. Therefore, we need to reduce the space taken by cars in public areas to support cafe and restaurant owners; especially since the rules for allocating and using terraces are vague and fluctuating, particularly in Nice. On the Côte d’Azur, how many streets have unusable sidewalks because they are too narrow, or even have none at all?”
For the ecologist, a first solution, at least for the year 2020, would be “to allow free use of terraces on parking and traffic lanes, up to 100% of the indoor capacity of establishments, without any heating or outdoor air conditioning systems. Conversely, terraces that obstruct pedestrian traffic on sidewalks are no longer tolerable when there is no shortage of road space.”
