After the accident of a young cyclist killed on a road in Lille, the association Droit au Vélo calls for a silent rally to pay tribute to Faël

A young 16-year-old cyclist, Faël, was fatally hit by a heavy weight on January 11 in the evening. A rally organized by the ADAV association pays tribute to him this Friday at 6:30 p.m.

Francois Loiseau is “revolt“. He has done too many white marches in tribute to cyclists killed on the road: a dozen in the metropolis of Lille since the beginning of the 2000s.

If he’s angry, he won’t show it tonight, “this is not the moment”. He will meditate and pay tribute to Faël, 16, killed in a road accident near the Tournai bridge, in Lille, in the Fives district.

No speech, no slogan, no banner, silence and dignity are just required during this time. No question of parading, nor of obstructing the circulation of cars… For people who wish to go there, it is therefore advisable to be dressed in a conspicuous way (vest or fluorescent cycling armband).

The sector, which connects Villeneuve d’Ascq to Lille, had already been the place – a little further, on the boulevard Hoover – of the death of a young cyclist who went two years ago to the youth hostel from the same boulevard, recalls François Loiseau.

“We know that the European Metropolis of Lille, MEL, is investing 100 million euros for cycling over the period 2020-2026, but we have fallen behind for decades. We are very behind our neighbors Dutch, Alsatian or Flemish”, regrets this administrator of the ADAV, association right to the bike.

On the specific location of the Faël accident, François Loiseau specifies: “If on either side of the bridge and on the bridge, there are cycle lanes, the place remains dangerous and even scary at both ends of the bridge. These are two black spots, in terms of cyclist traffic”, he explains. “However, we know at this place that 400 cyclists pass every morning between 8.00 and 9.00!”

And if in Lille center, the traffic plan of the town hall had its effect with facilities for cyclists and an increase in the number of cyclists by 40% in the mid-2010s; it would be necessary to consider, according to François Loiseau, to work twice as hard on the outskirts of Lille and in the other municipalities of the metropolis, “like in Roubaix or Tourcoing”. “The government’s objective is to have 10% of city dwellers who travel by bicycle. In Lille, we are now at more than 5% [sur 220 000 habitants], but it is less than 5% in the whole MEL [1,2 million d’habitants].”

So, if there were priorities to remember to accompany this policy in favor of soft mobility, François Loiseau would retain these:

• Increase the number of 30km/h zones for motorists
• Sharing the street between pedestrians, motorists and cyclists
• Create a coherent, continuous and marked cycling network
• Provide ample bicycle parking
• Educate about cycling

The meeting point for this evening will be next to the Le Splendid performance hall, on the Hellemmes side, near the Tournai bridge.

The ADAV is an association which counts on the North and the Pas-de-Calais some 2800 members. It calls for equitable planning (in terms of transport) of public space and promotes soft mobility.

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