The Vectorial® system again chosen by the city of Montreuil (France) for deploying its Cycling Plan.

The city of Montreuil took advantage of the lockdown imposed during the COVID-19 crisis to anticipate the implementation of part of its Bicycle Plan, planned for the period 2018-2022. By constructing 8 km of temporary bike lanes on axes already identified in this plan, the City is responding to the emergency and measures related to partial end of the lockdown, and will thus be able to test light and reversible developments, in particular on Avenue Gabriel Péri.

This very busy axis, which is part of the RER Vélo project of the Île-de-France Bike Collective, is traveled daily by many motorists and several bus lines. In the midst of heavy traffic, daily cyclists have struggled so far to get around safely. Thanks to the installation of a two-way track, they can now reach the Croix de Chavaux sector or Rue de Stalingrad in optimal traffic conditions.

However, this new bike lane located along the sidewalk, it coincides at two points with bus stops. The latter must guarantee full accessibility to bus users, while allowing cyclists to continue on their cycle route without sending them back into traffic. According to ZICLA’s experience, it is essential that these conflict areas between cyclists and bus users are managed in a harmonious manner in order to guarantee the sustainability and the proper functioning of the installations carried out. In addition, by minimizing the approximation manoeuvres of buses at a standstill and by facilitating their reintegration into traffic, the operating time of the bus line is optimized.

Need and project objectives.

To encourage the use of bicycles in the context of the partial end of the lockdown, the City of Montreuil has anticipated its Bicycle plan and installed, on already identified axes, temporary cycle paths. On avenue Gabriel Péri, it was essential to find a solution to optimally manage the conflict areas between cyclists and bus users, at the right of two stops.

The proposed solution.

The proposed solution consisted in installing two platforms of the Vectorial® system (ZICLA) with an integrated bike lane. The modularity and versatility of this product have obviously made it possible to respond quickly, economically and simply to the problem encountered.

This situation highlights the interest for cities in having modular, versatile products that are easy to set up and uninstall, all at a lower cost.