To accommodate the Tour de France rushes to Toulouse, arrangements have been necessary and many agents are on deck to avoid the slightest risk on the road, and outside.
At 1:15 p.m. on Wednesday, the runners of the Tour de France will start from the Stadium of Toulouse, before swallowing 156.8 km of roads through the agglomeration, with sometimes quite steep climbs, such as the Pech-David coast. To ensure the safety of cyclists, the metropolis of Toulouse had to take out the levels and achieve the repair of certain roads.
This is the case along the Garonne, where the islets of the narrow path have been deleted. Slowrs have been temporarily withdrawn and will be reinstalled immediately after passing the Grande Boucle, notably allée des Demoiselles or rue Thomas Edison. No less than 51,000 euros were invested by the community so that bitumens are adapted to the passage of the peloton.
1,000 straw boots
The Departmental Council, which also manages many roads, monitors its axes thanks, in particular, to artificial intelligence every month. It was therefore not necessary to redo tens of kilometers of bitumen for the occasion. On the other hand, the community mobilizes significant human and material resources, whether for this stage, that between Pau and Luchon-Superbagnères on Saturday or Mure-Carcassonne on Sunday. More than 120 high-Garonne road agents will be on the edges of the roads.
“They will ensure the safety of the route, traffic management, but also the cleanliness of the premises. They are strategic on the entire route to be able to intervene at any time. D -day, more than 1,000 straw boots will be installed to mark out and secure the roads. We also provide brushing trucks, water tanks to treat the rejuvenating areas, and of course, signaling and painting equipment,” Martine Croquette, vice-president in charge of roads in the department.
A departmental operational center activated at the prefecture
These measures, so that the peloton can run in the best conditions, are accompanied by others on public security, which is state services.
“The system put in place is proportionate to the issue, in order to guarantee an optimal level of security. It goes without saying that a triple event of this scale, at the departmental level, requires both a strong mobilization of local police and the use of external reinforcements,” said the chief of staff of the prefect of Haute-Garonne, Houda Vernhet. After months of preparation with all the actors, this Wednesday, a departmental operational center will be activated at the prefecture and a state agent will be present in the Coordination Center of the Tour de France, alongside the National Police, the Samu and the SDIS, whose rescue vehicles benefit from an absolute priority throughout the course.
“Emergency medical devices will also be pre-positioned on the course, in particular the departure, arrival points and in the areas of strong crowds. These devices will be provided by the SDIS, the SAMU, and by approved civil security associations often set up by the municipalities”, continues the state representative.
Beyond emergency interventions and surveillance, the prefecture, present in the arrival village of Compans, knows that the passage of the Tour de France is “also an opportunity for the State services to pass prevention messages, especially on road safety and the sharing of the road”. Even if that day the main roads “are privatized by the organization of the Tour for the race”.