Canal du Midi in Toulouse: less cars and more nature, the green project of 2023

There will be changes around the Canal du Midi in Toulouse. By 2028, there should be half the number of cars, but more greenery and space for pedestrians!

A highway project that was abandoned 50 years ago!

Originally called “Canal Royal de Languedoc”, the Canal du Midi, which received this name in 1789, became almost a 2×3-lane highway in the 70s and 80s. A project rejected by then mayor Pierre Baudis (Mayor of Toulouse from 1971-1983). “Environmental protection is now one of the main concerns of city dwellers. If I had agreed to the freeway, those who do not accept the preference for habitat today would be criticizing me for it in a few years. Old Toulouse has relatively little green space. It was necessary to use the opportunity. Choices must be made. I opted for pedestrians versus the car, which if we weren’t careful would end up driving the city dwellers out..” he admitted when he ruled Toulouse.
The opinion shared by the current mayor of Toulouse, Jean-Luc Moudenc, was proven by the comments he made during his requests to the press this Thursday, January 5, 2023.

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From Pink City to Green City?

It has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since December 7, 1996, and so on. green corridor in the center of the pink cityThus, the canal remains a convenient place for a walk and a change of scenery for Toulouse residents and other curious little ones. It is no longer a question of turning it into a highway, but the opposite!

“The aim of this project is to reconnect with the spirit of walking”, Jean-Luc Moudenc on January 6, 2023.

Indeed, the goal of local elected officials during the ecological transition and reduce the number of cars along the canal (not less than 60,000 per day on the Port de l’Embouchure side) and add greenery. Jean-Luc Moudenc admitted this Thursday, January 5, 2023: “The aim of this project is above all to restore the space to nature, to make it green, to make the canals look like a water body above all, and to favor gentle circulation. in short, to reconnect with the spirit of walking“.

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Fewer cars, more greenery in 2028?

To complete this project “Grand Canal Park”he explains: “We will reduce the car space by calming the banks of the canal“. For his part, François Chollet (authorized municipal councilor of Toulouse) gives more detailed information. future developments as well”extremely ambitious“he’s green. Even though the cars are shrinking”about 50%“, along the 7 kilometers of the Canal du Midi, the vegetation of the banks can double”by separating the streams“. And both wish.”This will be achieved when metro line C is put into operation, as part of the traffic will be absorbed by line 3.^e line“, that is, until 2028.

“A 50% reduction in the road reserved for cars on both sides of the Canal du Midi in the center of Toulouse is already extremely ambitious, I don’t think it’s reasonable to go any further.“He also defended the city mayor.

Brienne pitch shot

Urban transformations that should begin slowly, step by step. “The Brienne forecourt behind Place Saint-Pierre will be reinforced“, Jean-Luc Moudenc discovered, convinced of “The site has great potential“. Surroundings of the Canal Brienne at the foot of the Toulouse School of Economics (TSE) and Toulouse 1 Capitol University the first fittings of a long series. And only after attacking the smaller canals can it start working on the famous Canal du Midi, until 2025.

Great works and “more technical adjustments”

In addition to the massive work planned “technical regulationsIt is also planned to install benches like “They will be served when effective“Jean-Luc Moudenc confirmed, referring to the bike paths that were temporarily installed during the Covid-19 pandemic, then made permanent. And the latter added that other small projects are in their heads, “Improvements to the mouth port and the Filter basin, the bunkers of the Minims, the port of Saint-Sauveur or even the Radub reservoir will be proposed and implemented by the end of the mandate.“.

In a few years, Toulouse should have fewer parking lots, less asphalt and fewer cars, but more nature and pedestrians. Green city future?

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