It is well known, Nice is not a territory like others. This time, it is the General Counselor, Jean Icart, who claims it: “Its geographical configuration makes it a particular space. A surcharge for heavy goods vehicles has become necessary if we do not want our Coast to become a corridor for international freight transit.” The Nice highway is built on the coastline, “in the middle of the urban area” criticizes Jean Icart. It serves both as a ring road for the people of Nice and as a transit route for trucks crossing the French-Italian border. The General Counselor considers this traffic rather dangerous for user safety. Especially since the number of heavy goods vehicles continuously increases: it doubled between 1994 and 2005. Trucks prefer to cross the border at La Turbie (06) rather than at the Mont Blanc or Fréjus tunnels, as their toll prices are five times higher.
« The railway infrastructure exists, we just need to enhance it »
” Europe invites us to implement a Eurovignette so that heavy goods vehicles circulating on our roads do not do so in total tax exemption while they cause nuisances, risks, and costs for the infrastructure“, stated the Prime Minister, François Fillon, last July 3rd. This Eurovignette project, which is in fact a surcharge for trucks, is gradually developing. Jean Icart has been working on it for a year and has just approached the European Union: “with patience, the matter progresses“. Last February, he had already received the agreement of the Minister of Ecology, Nelly Olin, to start a specific study with a view to applying the Eurovignette in the Alpes-Maritimes. She wrote: “The application of regulatory fees should be allowed to combat (traffic) congestion and preserve the environment.” A surcharge for trucks would encourage the use of rail or maritime traffic, which is much less polluting.
In any case, to improve Nice’s traffic, Jean Icart is not short of ideas. The president of the transport and travel commission has three other proposals: harmonizing toll rates at the Italian border so that heavy goods vehicles distribute among the three crossings. An alternative to cars, by strengthening existing railway lines along the coast, “to create a kind of surface Metro“. And finally, a “Pass Card” so that the people of Nice can have a free ring road, “like in other major cities in France“.
Stay tuned for further developments…
