We are at the entrance to Chatou, not far from the bridge leading to Rueil-Malmaison.
At 5 p.m. sharp, in front of the protected passage, the pedestrian light goes out.
The traffic light for cars changes to flashing orange.
For two and a half hours, for pedestrians, no way to pass.
An endless stream of cars blocked their way.
A large sign reminds them of the rule: “For your safety, pedestrian crossings are prohibited from 5 pm to 8.30 pm, Monday to Friday”.
Another sign shows them the way to an underground passage, which pedestrians and cyclists must take during rush hour.
A pedestrian crossing prohibited to pedestrians?
Welcome to Chatou, in the Yvelines, a day before crossed by the D 186, a very busy 2 x 2 lane axis serving the west of Paris.
At the town hall, we wonder why this urban installation is talking about it, several years after its installation.
“Indeed, we favored the flow of cars for two hours, confesses Michèle Grellier, first deputy mayor Eric Dumoulin, (various right) of Chatou.
The Chatou bridge is 45,000 vehicles per day.
The light was red all the time and we had a line up to the A86!
», Explains the assistant.
For his part, Stein van Oosteren, spokesperson for the Vélo Île-de-France collective, author of a tweet and a video seen thousands of times on this pedestrian crossing, protested: "It's a lunar place, it is a place for astronauts, where can not be as a human being.
It's a dead place!
The spatial metaphor humorously points to the disappearance of the human in this place.
“It's a real urban hostility, continues Stein van Oosteren.
The pedestrian is relegated to the basement, and the underground passage has been equipped with narrow barriers, which do not facilitate the crossing, and require cyclists to dismount ”.
In front of the famous pedestrian crossing, the area is not the most welcoming for human life.
Incessant engine hums, horns, pollution… A father and his son who defied the ban almost got run over on the second lane.
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Domitille, she, patient 5 minutes then realizing that she will not be able to cross in the green, throws herself against the flow of car, and manages to squeeze skillfully between the cars.
“The problem isn't with the car, it's the fact that you can only get around by car,” explains Stein van Oosteren.
This town requested the stop of the coronapiste created after two weeks, because it considered that this was a problem for the car.
But it takes time for citizens to discover this new mode of transport ”.
Discover our video report at the top of this article on this pedestrian crossing that divides.
