The port, with its pleasure boats that make us dream of elsewhere, the charm of the fishing boats contrasting with the ferries bound for Corsica. Yes, the port of Nice is a place of paradox where the color of the sky rhymes with that of its multicolored facades.
Its residents take their time, far from the hustle and bustle of the tramway, life is calm, retirees rethink the world as at APBN La Mouette.
Others are busy with the two hundred meals to be served at noon, while others despair due to a lack of customers.
The port is a constant contrast, from one business to another, the point of view changes. This neighborhood, a political hostage where officials constantly passed the buck, has seen a thousand and one projects vanish to the great dismay of its inhabitants, the primary victims.
The resolution was not simple. The port was owned successively by the municipality, the State, and then the General Council. Last January 15, the Port returned to State hands, delaying the strong objectives taken in October 2007 by the departmental consultative commission, which set 10 priority objectives: not to distort the historic character of the port; to return it to the residents and visitors, by recreating a link with the city; to open it to the city and fully integrate it into neighborhood life by making it a place of culture and entertainment consistent with its history; to develop boating…
A few months later, the Regional Prefect decided to reassign the port to the department, and studies and public consultations resumed.
The conclusions were thus unveiled this Thursday, July 10, after a meeting of the consultative commission, and a true metamorphosis is going to take place in the coming years, with the aim of improving the urban quality of the port spaces.
Lighting of the space, reorganization of public spaces intended for bicycle promenades, and new parking. For Christian Estrosi, “the port will become a place of culture and entertainment in accordance with its history.” And for this, 300 additional parking spaces will be created with two underground parking lots, one at the custom’s quay and another in place of the current Infernet, which will transform into “an esplanade open to the sea where pedestrians will feel like they have their feet in the water.” The quays themselves will be expanded, allowing restaurateurs to extend into the street. Finally, the central square of the port, Ile de Beauté, will undergo a makeover with a fountain and a water feature to eventually accommodate a bike path in line with “Nice Green City.”
These development works should cost 180 million euros, of which 120 million are for beautification, and they will begin in mid-2009 after public consultations.
