Should we create a real bike path on the Normandy bridge? The idea does more than its way as this emblem of Normandy, which connects Honfleur (Calvados) and Le Havre (Seine-Maritime) by crossing the Seine estuary, is now frequented by two-wheelers, much more numerous than at the inauguration of the cable-stayed structure in 1995.
Today, there is only one metre-wide pedestrian lane separated from the carriageway by a concrete curb and a one-metre cycle path marked by a white but dangerous line, as it also serves as an obstacle avoidance zone for heavy goods vehicles.
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Two months ago, Christelle Cubaud, vice-president of the AF3V (French Association for the Development of Road Bicycles and Greenways) announced that she had questioned, with other associations, the Commission for Access to Administrative Documents (CADA) to obtain the study of the Indiggo firm which, in February 2019, had studied the possibility of integrating bike paths on the Normandy bridge.
The Seine Estuaire Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI), which operates the bridge under the concession regime, had so far refused to provide a copy. On April 19, the AF3V finally received the document that envisages two solutions, according to the association: "that of a mixed space by removing the siding of heavy goods vehicles or that of a reduction in the width of traffic lanes". "One way or another," says Christelle Cubaud, "we should lower the speed of all vehicles to a maximum of 70 km/h at all times."
"We now officially know the technical and economic proposals," says the vice-president of the association, "and we have confirmation that there is no need to knock down the bridge to rebuild one with a bike path!" The CCI has long put up technical obstacles to the relocation of the concrete curb to protect pedestrians. But, since the publication of the Indiggo study, the concessionaire of the Normandy bridge has invited associations. It was on May 2 in Le Havre.
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"All this to tell us that it was not up to them to decide but to... the State! ", sums up Christelle Cubaud. For two hours, the associations La Roue Libre, AF3V and Le Dérailleur 14 nevertheless had "very constructive and practical exchanges, which made it possible to share the need to imagine realistic solutions in the short term" with Yves Lefebvre, president of the CCI Seine Estuaire, accompanied by Claire Grivel, director of the concession, and Dominique César, the Director General.
"The State, owner of the Normandy bridge, refusing the proposals for modifications of the Indiggo study, our interlocutors at the CCI, which is only the concessionaire, proposed to us to study the feasibility of setting up a motorized shuttle capable of accommodating all types of bicycles, including cargo bikes or electric bikes, and for any type of use, tourism and professional, as is done on the Pont de Saint-Nazaire, "said the vice-president of AF3V.
"Cyclists, think twice before you go through it!"
"If we agree on the principle, it cannot be transitory," says Christelle Cubaud. A waiting solution for associations before a technical solution is found on the express route. "What kind of shuttle will it be? How often will it pass? Who will pay? How soon can this be implemented? This will not happen overnight! And above all, it does not solve anything at all. We will now knock on the door of the DGITM, the Directorate General for Infrastructure, Transport and Mobility," announces AF3V.
As the tourist season begins, she advises cyclists "to prepare their routes well, to check where to go depending on whether you are alone or in a group, by the Normandy bridge with its dangerous traffic or by making a detour of 70 kilometers to get on the Quillebeuf ferry". The Vélomaritime, between Dunkirk and Roscoff, passes by there but the Normandy bridge and its 2441 km long, is not yet to be put under all the wheels.