aixcentric

I’m sure everyone in the area has seen the start this week of the ‘travaux‘,  basically carving a 7,2 km route from one side of town to the other for the ‘Bus a Haut Niveau de Service (BHNS)’, now thankfully renamed L’Aixpress.  

What do we know so far?

• the buses will run between Krypton parking & Saint Mitre/Jas de Bouffan
• there will be 19 sleek new bus-stops
• 80% of the track will be buses-only
  

  Centuries-old plane trees are already boxed up to protect them while the work is ongoing.

• the buses will run every 7 minutes
• the work will go on for 2 years
• cost = 66,2 million euros
• there will be enhanced pavements and cycle-ways
• lots of new trees will be planted beside the tracks.

You really have to hand it to the French on these infrastructure projects.  This one is really disruptive and expensive, but they seem to concentrate firmly on the objective (efficient public transport) and make it happen. For instance, to facilitate parking at the huge roundabout near Géant (Jas de Bouffan), they are simply drilling down to make a 3-floor underground car-park.

Here is a good animation:  http://www.agglo-paysdaix.fr/actualites/a/detail/bus-a-haut-niveau-de-service-decouvrez-le-projet-1661.html 

This is a very detailed report with maps and diagrams of every stage of the journey:  presentation-BHNS-01-2015

Already the local buses have screens inside apologising for possible disruptions to timetables and navigating pavements around the Rotonde is getting tricky.

I think we are in for two years of real upheaval!