The T2 line will run from the port to CADAM and the airport terminals. The construction will start in 2012. The downtown area will be spared. Tram T2 is part of a project that will place the multimodal center of Saint Augustin back at the heart of the city.
The T2 line has a pleasant surprise for us! In the form of a bifid tongue, it will snake from East to West with two terminals to satisfy everyone: one at the airport’s T2 terminal, the other at CADAM. With Alain Philippe, Deputy Delegate for Transport, as the master of ceremonies, the General Council and the city council explained their contribution to this project and their commitment to bringing it to life.
For Jean-Michel Drevet, the department is facing its biggest project in the years to come. It is a component of the overall eco-city project. The participation of the State, inevitable for financing such a project, came to reward the aspect of “territorial integration” it induces. Indeed, this line is “designed for the complete integration of so-called sensitive neighborhoods.”
The T2 line, a metro or tram?
The fight to reduce traffic and pollution, initiated with line 1, should not be carried out at any cost. Because light vehicles have lost ground and circulation is fluid even if fewer vehicles are driving. “We had to avoid a new trauma of 5 years of construction in the city center,” explained Christian Estrosi. This mix (3 km underground for a total of 11 km) will reduce the impact of construction on the daily lives of the people of Nice.
And after?
Other impacts that can be anticipated for citizens include the economic impact. No tax increase is planned, so no worries on that front. As for circulation in the metropolis, it could undergo a serious lift. With a total journey estimated at 26 minutes, intramural traffic is expected to decrease, especially since Saint Augustin will become the nerve center with the train station, airport, and now the tram. “In the future, buses will have to stop there, which is why the central bus station is no longer necessary.”
A system to prevent fare evasion on trams at underground stations from Alsace-Lorraine to Ile de beauté (the port terminal) has been announced. 3 hectares of green spaces along the tram line and a cumulative widening of sidewalks equivalent to a football field should increase the quality of life in the city.
Innovations concerning the urban network in Nice are not ready to stop. Line 4 is planned to connect Nice-West to Cagnes and line 3 the CADAM to the stadium and the eco-valley.
