As expected, the presentation of the alternative project for tram line 2 will be the main point of debate until the next municipal elections. Moreover, it is the least ideological public act of Christian Estrosi’s term and one in which all citizens feel involved. On this subject, we receive a contribution from the president of the association Vivre à Nice, Dr. Hervé Cael, a person well rooted in local life.
In introduction, it is worth recalling three obvious points:
1/ Who can today dispute the need for fast, efficient, and eco-friendly public transport to cross the city from East to West?
2/ The future line 2 of the tramway cannot be considered in isolation. This line must be repositioned within a global scheme of movement and parking for our neighborhoods.
3/ The organization of transport means within a city must take into account the daily and professional lives of the inhabitants of Nice.
The Socialist Party’s project presented calls for the following observations:
1/ The success of tram line 1 shows that future lines must be sized to transport tens of thousands of passengers per day.
The current municipality’s project plans for a train carrying 300 passengers every three to four minutes, transporting 105,000 people at the launch of line 2, eventually increasing to 200,000.
The Socialist project remains unclear (and as Martine Aubry’s grandmother said, “when it’s unclear, there’s a problem”) on the frequency of the trains, which according to a slide shown during the presentation exceeds seven minutes significantly! The constraints of a surface route therefore directly impact the number of passengers transported.
The issue of financing this infrastructure is crucial, but it must be analyzed in relation to the estimated number of passengers transported.
2/ The section planned by the municipality underground is located in areas of the city characterized by: high urbanization, narrow roads with multiple intersections, and the presence of local businesses.
Routing the tramway on the surface in these zones inevitably leads to major repercussions on traffic, the daily lives of residents, and economic activity not only during construction but also permanently once the tramway is in service.
The absence of concrete answers during the public presentation of the Socialist project is notable in terms of: impact on traffic on roads perpendicular to the route and compensation or risk of local businesses disappearing.
Ignoring these elements could lead some neighborhoods to impoverishment due to traffic congestion and the disappearance of local commerce.
3/ Nice needs an uninterrupted East-West public transport line.
The municipal opposition’s project proposes a line 2 arriving from the West to stop at Avenue Jean Médecin and a total abandonment of the service to the port districts. This break in service seriously jeopardizes the success of a fast, efficient, and ecological connection between the East and West neighborhoods of the city.
4/ A Socialist project with no political majority!
The presentation of the Socialist project for a new tramway line is clearly a real political chimera.
Patrick Allemand knows perfectly well that it will be impossible for him to have a political majority on this issue! The equation is simple: the left is in the minority in Nice, and even within his own camp, he is far from unanimous: The strong reservations of the Socialist general councilor of the first district (the residents of the port districts are totally excluded from the proposed transport scheme…) add up to the publicly expressed reluctance from Europe Ecologie Les Verts environmentalists and the absence of communists!
Tramway line 2 is a major infrastructure in terms of urban planning for which the city cannot make any concessions. The project’s significance for the city is such that one can only oppose purely political and demagogic maneuvers aimed at discrediting it.
