LILLE GRAND'PLACE IS NOW A SEMI-PEDESTRIANISED ZONE

Lille Grand'Place is now much quieter and more pleasant! Following extensive consultation and many months of renovation work, the whole of the Grand' Place area (the name given by locals to the Charles de Gaulle square, and focal point of the city) has been given over to a new form of organisation of urban space. In practical terms, the space is now shared more equitably between motor vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians, in a layout known in French as a "zone de rencontre" (meeting zone).

The "zone de rencontre" corresponds in effect to a form of semi-pedestrianisation,  between a fully-pedestrianised zone and a zone with vehicle access but with a highly-reduced speed limit. In this zone, pedestrians are given absolute priority over all other means of transport. All kinds of motor vehicles have general access to the square, but their speed is limited to 20 km/h and they must give way to people walking or on bicycles.

Roadworks to set up the new zone, lasting several months, encouraged car drivers to find new ways to avoid the area, without using the square to link different districts of the city. Henceforth, traffic jams on the Grand'Place are destined to become a thing of the past, even during the morning and evening rush-hours.

 

The "zone de rencontre" principle aids fluidity and promotes the cohabitation between users of public space.

Special signs indicate to car drivers they are arriving in a semi-pedestrianised zone, ensuring that they slow down. Once in the square, the demarcation lines between road and pavement are deliberately blurred, inciting pedestrians to take full possession of all spaces. Meanwhile, the traffic lights have been removed.
In addition, a specific floor plan has been introduced to help the blind and partially-sighted to find their way across the square in complete security.

- Pedestrians
Priority is given to people on foot and their movements are not limited to footpaths or pavements.

- Cyclists
Where roadways are limited to one direction for motor vehicles, cyclists can ride in both directions.

- Motor vehicles
Speed is limited to 20 km/h and parking is permitted only in the adjacent car parks.

- Local parking services
More than 3,000 parking spaces are available nearby, in order to come to Grand'Place to shop or enjoy the café terrasses in the most convenient way possible.
Grand’Place : 342 parking spaces
Rihour (Printemps), place Rihour : 300 spaces
Opéra (boulevard Carnot) : 484 spaces
Tanneurs (rue de Paris) : 563 spaces
Galerie Lafayette (rue de la Rivierette) : 595 spaces
Nouveau Siècle (Place Mendès France) : 740 spaces