C'est (presque) l’égalité - l’Avenue du Peuple Belge deviendra un parc
C'est (presque) l’égalité - l’Avenue du Peuple Belge deviendra un parc
> 11% of citizens participated in the consultation and showed a real interest in the project.
> A large part of the participants are in favour of flooding the Avenue du Peuple Belge, but a park will be built.
> The remaining questions are whether the Parc du Peuple Belge will be another Parc Jean-Baptiste Lebas and whether a similar consultation will be organised to unblock the situation in Saint-Sauveur.
Lille, June 9th 2022.
The presentation yesterday of the results of the city's public consultation on the future of Avenue Peuple Belge showed a very balanced result. With a participation of 11% of the population registered on the electoral lists, i.e. 14,596 inhabitants of Lille, 3909 citizens (27%) opted for a park, 3785 (26%) for a partial return of water, 3776 inhabitants (25%) for a complete return of water and 3126 (21%) for a water mirror. This means that almost 73% of the participants prefer a return of water to the Avenue du Peuple Belge, but instead a park will be built. This choice seems to us a democratic mistake.
With 14596 votes in total, 11% of the population participated in the consultation, a number that shows a significant interest of the inhabitants in these types of issues. We can highlight here a particularly high participation for a participatory democracy exercise. Such a high level of participation is rare, and underlines the interest of the inhabitants of Lille in their city.
However, these different scenarios made the exercise complex to interpret, as the difference in votes was extremely small.
Volt Lille hopes that this consultation and the public's interest will not remain a one-off episode, but rather a source of inspiration for organising similar consultations on key issues in the future.
Sven Franck, head of the Volt Lille team: "We are pleased to see the effort made by the city to engage citizens in this debate and although one may question the choice of options and the use of a vote rather than a ranking system, it is still a first step towards real citizen participation. We hope that this will not be the last time that this type of consultation will be organised and we would be in favour of giving as much visibility to other consultations, such as the PLU* or the SRADDET**, which have a much greater impact on daily life than the Avenue du Peuple Belge, but which usually go unnoticed by the population.
If the construction of a park remains an interesting option in one of the most mineral cities in France, it will be necessary to be able to maintain multimodal uses to keep access for all, both cyclists and motorists, and to reflect on a shared use of the space. If Avenue Peuple Belge is to become a green oasis in the city centre, it must also be an oasis of tranquillity. Some urban planning will be needed to ensure access for residents and traders, but this should be the objective. We also think that a similar consultation would be a good idea to find a solution for the future of Saint-Sauveur and give citizens a say in the future of one of the remaining large areas where a park could be built.
* "Plan local d'urbanisme" = Local Planning Scheme
** "Schéma régional d’aménagement, de développement durable et d’égalité des territoires" = Regional plan for planning, sustainable development and territorial equality
Contact
Eric Galera, - Head of Volt Hauts-de-France
Mail : eric.galera@volteuropa.org
Sven Franck - Head of Volt Lille
Mail : sven.franck@volteuropa.org
About Volt
As the first truly pan-European party, Volt is committed to reforming the European Union and responding to today's challenges in a coordinated way at European level. Volt's vision: a federal and progressive Europe with an inclusive society, a climate-friendly economy, an adaptable education system and self-determined digitalisation.
Volt is convinced that only the democratic participation of all European citizens will prepare us for a sustainable, economically strong and socially just future. This is why Volt acts at all levels - from local to European, as a movement and as a party. The movement gives everyone a voice and the opportunity to engage politically from within society. Today, Volt is present all over Europe: thousands of people of all ages and professions are involved in 30 European countries with teams in hundreds of cities.
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