Imagine: you are at the top of the list and you win the municipal elections of March 15 and 22. What first steps would you put in place? Giving residents a voice: this is exactly the aim of the operation “If I were mayor”, co-organized by The South Dispatch and regional radio 100%. Yesterday morning, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., we gathered, on the Esplanade des Fontaines, the projects that the interviewees could implement.
> Facilitate travel
Transport: this is the subject that comes up most often in the mouths of Montalbanians. “If I were mayor, I would first put in place more public transport, summarizes Océane. I think that it is needed at higher frequencies and better connections, later in the evening and on weekends. Because today I have above all the reflex to take my car but I think I could do without it if the transport offer was satisfactory “, continues this 34 year old mother who is in town with the stroller her baby and says she is sensitive to ecological issues. For Martine, it is especially the free parking spaces that are lacking. “I would give one hour of free parking per day to each car,” she said. For Emmanuel, it is the state of the network that raises questions. “The streets of the city center have just been arranged, that’s great. But we must not forget the peripheral axes of Montauban where there are many potholes”, notes this forty-something working in a service of help to the person. Clément, an 18-year-old law student, and Yecin, a 27-year-old social worker, also noted a lack of space for cyclists, “even though cycle paths have been built”.
> Revitalize the city
“I arrived ten years ago in Montauban. I must admit that the mayor did a good job, but there is still a lot to do, especially to revitalize the city center which is dying!”, Regrets Martine, joined by Landry, 19. “The city lacks activity in the city center. We should also favor certain young spaces, enlarges the skatepark for example”. A request also noted by Tranchant and Louis, respectively 17 and 18 years old. “We clearly bother sometimes. There aren’t enough animations.”
> Strengthening social ties
“If we didn’t do as much bling bling and that we were putting more money into social …, denounces Rachel. It is incredible not to help charities “, laments the 71-year-old retiree. She is comforted by Tranchant and Louis:” There is a lack of structures for the homeless in Montauban, especially during the winter. That they can sleep warm and that we take care of it better. “For Yecin,” we should have structures in the neighborhoods to avoid that young people end up in the wrong hands “An observation made by Clement.” More patrols would be needed in certain areas to give a greater sense of security. “
> Know the candidates and projects
“We do not know who is showing up!” Laments Michel, 71, on his bike. There are no posters and we do not know the candidates’ programs, “said the septuagenarian. A request that resonates in Océane’s words. “I will obviously vote at the municipal level, but for the moment we see only a few proposals. I, like many people, have a certain bitterness towards politics in general. But the candidates should give more voice to the inhabitants and that ‘they make people want to get involved.’ In any case, the people we met have spoken out.
The Tarn-et-Garonne tour schedule
During two months, The Dispatch and 100% radio go out to meet the voters of 45 municipalities in the Occitania region as part of the 2020 municipal election campaign. After kick-off in Toulouse on Monday and Montauban yesterday, the “If I were” tour mayor “will continue until March 8. Four crossing points are planned in the Tarn-et-Garonne. The uvale city will be the second departmental meeting. The microphones of this exceptional operation will be placed at the Moulin de Moissac next Monday, January 13, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. If all goes well, the sub-prefecture city of the department, Castelsarrasin, should welcome our journalists Monday January 20 from 8 am to 1 pm at a place that remains to be confirmed. Montech will close this Tarn-et-Garonnaise tour the day after the Castelsarrasinoise stage. The meeting place has been set from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the market in the city of Montech. Mark your calendars!
–
