The collective of shopkeepers, artisans, associations, and professionals from Boulevard Risso, from Place Garibaldi to Rue Barla, are sending you this petition against the installation, lasting until February 2008, of two-story construction prefabs reducing Boulevard Risso from four lanes to two. This petition, dated July 12, was sent to the President of the CANCA on July 12, 2007. The Nice tramway works are nearing completion. Trains are circulating. The people of Nice are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. On the side of Boulevard Risso and Place Garibaldi, people are bracing themselves to suffer until February: an amplifying factor of anger. A second factor: being outside the perimeter eligible for compensations.
The complaints are out in the open: “We won’t benefit from the tramway because we’re a bit too far, but we suffer all the disadvantages. Since the beginning of the work, there’s been a significant drop in visitors.” The Nice Côte d’Azur Urban Community has taken the petition into account and a letter has been sent to the shopkeepers: “CANCA has decided to develop an exceptional mechanism to consider the difficulties faced by businesses around the construction site. This mechanism consists of a complete interest bonus until the tram is operational. To benefit from this mechanism, a file must be filled and criteria met. This file will be attached to the letters sent to shopkeepers, along with the resolution of May 22, 2006, which sets the intervention framework of the Urban Community.” This “complete interest bonus” is a specific measure different from the compensations paid to shopkeepers within 50 meters of the site.
On Boulevard Risso, the anger was exacerbated by the installation of a generator to power one of the prefabs. This adds to the traffic jams and the view obstructed by construction buildings. The editorial secretary of the magazine Performarts explains the inconvenience: “For a week it’s been unbearable. We open the window and have the constant noise of the generator, and our offices are invaded by the smell of diesel. We close the windows and suffocate in this heat. I am fully in favor of the tramway. I understand the work and the resulting inconveniences. What I am reproaching is that we were not informed and that it was left dragging without concern for us.” This setup was supposed to be temporary until EDF could make an electrical connection that was technically impossible until then. It’s a matter of hours. Everything will return to order and this incident will remain a mere construction mishap as there have been hundreds since the site started.
