Town planning: redesigning the sector around the station of La Verpillière
After having met with the town's mayor and elected representatives responsible for urban planning and economic development, students were left with a number of parameters to bear in mind. And students were also given a time frame to come up with a solution for the redevelopment of the sector around the station that they would need to present to La Verpillière Town Council in May 2015.
Needs and constraints linked to redeveloping the station of La Verpillière
Needs and issues at stake
- Getting rid of the level crossing,
- re-routing traffic from the D126 road to avoid unnecessary traffic congestion,
- developing the station for the projected increase in passenger traffic,
- re-working the traffic flows along the Avenue de la Gare,
- re-siting the Sainte-Marie Lyon school bus terminus,
- extending station car parking, but to what level?,
- improving safety around the station through reduced traffic flow,
- improving station access, as well as making crossing to the opposite platform easier,
- extending other sorts of parking (such as for bicycles and electric cars),
- favouring soft transport methods, especially between the station and the new outlet village,
- improving disabled access to and inside the station,
- creating a new bus terminus for public transport to and from the station,
- adding new services and/or shops for commuters,
- easing traffic flow.
Constraints-invariables
- All the stakeholders need to be in agreement.
- Making sure the La Verpillière-Villefontaine link road is maintained.
- Sainte-Marie Lyon school cannot be re-sited.
- The school gymnasium and other parts of the school are not open to the general public.
- Construction of a new outlet village is due to begin in early 2015, bringing increased traffic.
- The new housing development cannot be re-sited.
- Local businesses cannot be relocated.
- There is a habitat corridor for wildlife that cannot be built on.
- The site is relatively small and building potential limited.
Presentation by the French Town Hall
Players
State
- Reginal and local authorities,
- La Verpillière Town Hall,
- Villefontaine Town Hall,
- North Isère Urban Authority (Communauté d’agglomération des Portes de l’Isère or “CAPI”),
- Isère Council,
- Rhone-Alps Regional Council,
- The French rail network provider: RFF.
Main private players
- The school Sainte-Marie Lyon,
- A company called Nemera.
Various solutions proposed and studied
- Getting rid of the level crossing.
- Re-routing the local road 1006 which goes over the level crossing.
- Creating an intermodal hub.
- Resiting of or safety improvement work on the Marist school bus park.
- Rethinking of the direction of traffic along Avenue Général de Gaulle and Avenue Général Giraud.
- Development of the Léman site.
- No resiting of the current La Verpillière station due to costs and political considerations.