The bicycle, forgotten in the transport plan for the 2024 Olympics?
In any case, this is the clear statement drawn up by the forty cycling associations united within the IDF cycling collective.
Less than two years from the Olympic and Paralympic events, which will take place in Greater Paris in July and August 2024, "90% of the sites are not yet accessible by bike", warns the collective.
Before reaching this conclusion, the volunteers made a precise diagnosis of each site.
Continuity of cycle paths, capacity in parking hoops and availability of rental bicycles (Vélib' and others): of the twelve places analysed, none today meet the conditions for massive access by bicycle.
The Stade de France and the Villepinte exhibition center inaccessible
“The lack of cycling infrastructure and the many cuts in the cycling network make access to sites complicated, even sometimes impossible, points out the collective.
Half of the sites are difficult to access by bike due to the lack of continuous and safe cycle routes.
If the Parisian sites stand out thanks to the existence of several quality cycle paths, emblematic places such as the Stade de France remain difficult to access despite their proximity to the capital.
The Paris Nord Villepinte exhibition center, where the boxing, fencing, modern pentathlon and seated volleyball events will take place, is simply inaccessible by bike”.
Even more surprising: the National Velodrome of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, which will host the cycling and BMX events, currently only offers… 40 bicycle parking spaces.
The same tiny number as the Stade de France and its 80,000 seats.
Vélib' and free-floating operators in the fog
About 10 million additional trips are planned in the Paris region during the Olympic fortnight.
For foreign visitors, access to rental bicycles is currently very limited.
For example: only 168 Vélib' are available around the Arena Bercy (Paris, 12th arrondissement), which will accommodate 15,000 spectators.
"Without the deployment of new rental bicycle solutions, spectators will not have the choice of cycling as an alternative to public transport, whereas it can be an important lever for desaturation", underlines the association.
Recently in our columns, the boss of Smovengo, the operator of Vélib', sounded the alarm.
Without a massive order of 10,000 bikes approved by elected officials by December 15, the metropolitan service risks being unable to meet demand at the event.
The elected representatives of the 60 member municipalities of the Syndicat Vélib' Autolib' Métropole have not yet specified their ambitions for the Olympics.
The members of the collective propose several solutions to be studied urgently.
It is necessary "to reduce the main cuts in the cycling network, to provide mass bicycle parking (as PSG does during matches at the Parc des Princes) and to develop bicycle rental services, in addition to Vélib'", recommends you. -she.
Electric scooters and bicycles from self-service vehicles (Lime, Tier and Dott) could enrich the available offer... Unless the City of Paris decides to put an end to their activity, by not renewing their contract, which expires in February 2023.
Developments underway in Seine-Saint-Denis
For its part, the Organizing Committee of the Games recalls that several major cycling facilities are under construction, particularly in Seine-Saint-Denis.
In this department, the banks of the Saint-Denis canal are under construction to provide cycling continuity to the foot of the Stade de France.
Several footbridges come out of the ground to facilitate travel to this site.
These works, the cost of which is estimated at several million euros, are co-financed by the Olympic works delivery company (Solideo).
Two cycle bridges are expected on either side of the Stade de France.
They will connect the enclosure, for one, to the future Olympic aquatic center and for the other, to the district of Franc-Moisin.
A footbridge over the A1 motorway will link Le Bourget, Dugny and La Courneuve.
Not to mention the bridge that will connect the two parts of the Olympic Village, between Saint-Denis and L'Île-Saint-Denis, where only pedestrians, bicycles, scooters and RATP buses can travel.
"Everything is not perfect, but without the Olympics, we could not have built these major works", notes Christophe Piercy, elected (PS) delegate to the cycling city in Saint-Denis.
On the other hand, according to him, "the account is not there" in terms of bicycle parking.
“About 500 parking spaces are planned near the stadium, under the A86 and near Porte de Paris.
But this is insufficient.
Hundreds of parking spaces under the Stadium are unoccupied, they could easily be recycled for cycling,” judge Christophe Piercy.
The example of the Dutch Formula 1 Grand Prix
Faced with skeptics who doubt that the bicycle can be a suitable mode of transport during major events, the associations once again cite the example of the Netherlands.
In September, no fewer than 50,000 people were able to cycle to the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Zandvoort.
Huge guarded car parks had been set up, with cycle lanes separated from pedestrian paths.
300,000 visitors for the Holland Grand Prix.
35% 🚲
35% 🚅
15% 🚌
15% otherwise ⛵️
Parking 🚗 more than 7 km away.
Bike rental, secure parking and cycling facilities.
Are we starting to take care of the 2024 Olympics or are we waiting for it to be a mess?
pic.twitter.com/1yK5GYw7RW
— Guillaume Martin (@GlmMrt) September 7, 2022
The Paris Olympics, which have put respect for the environment at the heart of their candidacy, could draw inspiration from it.
“The ambition of these Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games is to leave a strong legacy to the people of the Ile-de-France region.
Ensuring cycling Games means offering Ile-de-France residents the possibility of getting around by bike in a safe manner the day after the Games.
It is urgent to act now”, insists the collective.