The Senator Mayor is all smiles in front of the tram. A honk and off it goes. The tram advances slowly, allowing journalists, photographers, CANCA staff, tram technicians, and the Peyrat couple to accompany it on its descent towards Boyer square. The ongoing works pause to let tram number 02 pass quietly.
Residents of the neighborhood have come out to the streets for the occasion and greeted the tram’s passage with either cheer or complaint, or even both. “It’s quite nice. But it won’t refund all the parking tickets I’ve racked up because of the construction! I will remember all the trouble when I ride it,” complains a passerby. Régine and Jocelyne are more measured: “We’re glad to see it running. The works didn’t bother us much since we didn’t use a car. From September, we’ll start using the tram.”
Complete operation is scheduled for the end of September. There’s talk of the 30th for the official inauguration, with service for all users starting the next day.
Emma, who manages a snack bar on Gorbella, watches the tram and its entourage from a distance behind her tinted glasses. Not really indifferent but not enthusiastic either: “It’s the beginning of the end. It will be great when the works are finished and the trees are planted. Workers come to eat at my snack bar…and then I can easily park when I come off the highway in the morning.” She has always known the area to be under construction. She decided to take over this business fully aware of the situation, but she understands her customers’ frustrations: “The sidewalks are small. They are sometimes used by scooters bypassing the traffic jams. It can be dangerous for mothers with strollers!”
Overall, the inhabitants present experienced the tram parade as a relief, a symbol of the end of their troubles. The Senator Mayor maintained his smile from start to finish—a smile of relief, where you could almost hear a heartfelt cry saying, “Finally, it’s running!”
