La Rochelle: One year after the tragedy on Avenue Coligny, a cycle path project approved by the municipality

After consultation with the neighborhood committee, a project to rehabilitate Avenue Coligny has been approved by the City of La Rochelle. A cycle path is expected to be built in 2026, two years after the fatal accident between a group of children on bicycles and an octogenarian in a car.

S ince June 5, 2024, the Coligny Avenue cycle path project has taken on a whole new dimension. It's been almost a year since little Margot died, struck by a car along with a dozen other children during an after-school outing where they cycled along the avenue.

This busy thoroughfare lacked a dedicated space for cyclists. A shortcoming "identified since 2023," according to Olivier Prentout, deputy mayor in charge of urban mobility. Work will finally begin in spring 2026, following the municipality's vote on the final development project this Monday, May 19.

A rehabilitation that comes two years too late? "This discontinuity in the cycle path was identified in 2023 and fate had it that a tragedy occurred there in 2024," Olivier Prentout defended himself. "But here, we are within the normal timetable for this type of development, to do things according to the rules, particularly for regulations in terms of public procurement, urban planning rules [...]. We did not react to the emotion aroused, we took the necessary time to dialogue with everyone. We couldn't just put a lick of paint and some markers."

The project finally chosen by the City of La Rochelle, from among seven scenarios studied , is that of a "two-way track on the west side, after crossing Avenue Leclerc." It will thus be placed between the sidewalk and the roadway, and more precisely delimited from the sidewalk by the line of trees and separated from cars by a corridor of parking spaces. Avenue Coligny will thus remain open to traffic for cars in both directions, at the cost of around thirty fewer parking spaces.

"We had also considered building the cycle path on a less busy street nearby, but we have to be pragmatic: cyclists always tend to take the most direct route to get where they want to go," notes the elected official. Work is expected to begin in spring 2026. A delivery area will also be created to serve the avenue's businesses. This work was carried out in consultation with the Genette neighbourhood committee, within which local residents "showed understanding," according to the elected official, despite some "fears" regarding future changes.

For the year 2025, nearly 1.2 million euros have been invested by the City for the development of cycle paths. Among the other projects, there is also the transformation of the rue de Dompierre between the station and the boulevard de Cognehors, near the veterinary clinic. This major axis of the bypass of the city center of La Rochelle, under construction for several months for the repair of the sanitation networks , should soon welcome a real cycle path with the creation of a service road as well as vegetation work. By sacrificing "10 to 15 parking spaces", this path will be "the missing section to connect the station to the swimming pool directly", according to the deputy mayor Christophe Bertaud.

In the fall of 2025, work will also begin on the second section of Rue Marius-Lacroix, to connect the city center to Puilboreau. Other projects, such as two "vélorocades" , are also being considered. These would allow cyclists from the outskirts of La Rochelle to travel more easily between the towns in the urban area, avoiding having to go through La Rochelle.