Faced with both the lack of space available for planting and ambitious political objectives in this area, the Green Spaces Service (SEVE) studied different options during the legislature. tracks in order toaccelerate revegetation.
In 2023, a study made it possible to identify a hundred plots of land on the private domain of the City, which constitutes one of the levers of action identified.
In addition to the public domain, the commune has numerous plotsnotably the parking lots and the surroundings of buildings which it owns, with previously under-exploited revegetation potential. “Given the density of our city, we must find solutions that can be implemented quickly and multiply them. People in the neighborhoods must be able to reclaim the space. And the authorities must take measures to adapt the territory to the climate change and promoting quality of life in the face of upcoming heatwaves, it is also a question of public health”, explains Alfonso Gomez, Administrative Advisor in charge of the environment.
A large parking lot transformed into a tree-lined courtyard
There revegetation of the Jean-Jaquet square in Pâquis, used today as a parking lot, is among the priority projects.
In 2023, a study revealed polluted soil due to demolition debris buried under the entire surface of the square during the reconstruction of the buildings at the beginning of the 20th century. In order to have a more detailed knowledge of the composition of the subsoil, hydrogeological studies have just been carried out. The results will make it possible to refine the landscape project for work to begin in fall 2025.
THE 52 places will be eliminatedwhile all the tenants of these places will be offered a alternative solution nearby, under the same conditions, in one of the municipal property management (GIM) basement car parks. 26 treesof the shrubs and perennials will beautify the space and create a real island of freshness and relaxation.
The objective is to return to residents the places, which already served as a common courtyard until the 1950s, before the era of “all-car” led to it being made an axis of circulation between the rue des Pâquis and rue Jean-Jaquet.
This project is part of the City climate strategybut also in a dynamic initiated by residents more than 10 years ago. Note that the current tenants, the initiators of the project at the time were consulted in order to decide on the variants envisaged by the SEVE.
Spaces removed on the surface to fill vacant parking lots
Two other projects similar ones are being carried out in Pâquis and the Junction:
- At rue de Lausanne 31, work is underway for the removal of 10 parking spaces with a view to creating a tree-lined courtyard.
- At boulevard Carl-Vogt 44-46, the bitumen was removed in order to allow the planting of a urban micro-forest 350 m2 next March, with the participation of residents of the neighborhood.
Projects continuing recent achievements
These projects are a continuation of other recent SEVE achievements in working-class neighborhoods, which are also the least tree-filled.
- To Charmillesin the industrial zone (ZIC), around thirty trees as well as a micro-forest were planted.
- To Caves, part of the Jacob-Spon square parking lot has been transformed into micro-forest also while Paquis, a small court of rue Philippe-Plantamour has been redeveloped last summer.
- To Eaux-Vives, the surroundings of the Town Hall have been greened and the upper part of the park was stripped to create a new relaxation area. 52 parking spaces out of the 149 existing have been removed.
- A micro-forest was created in Villereuse and the southern tip of Place Pré-L’Evêque now welcomes a pedestrian square.
The trees planted in this context are among the 2,500 specimens planted between 2021 and 2024, compared to 150 to 200 per year previously.
For each of these projects, when rental parking spaces are eliminated, free spaces in basement car parks are offered to all tenants, nearby and under the same conditions. As underground car parks belonging to the City have a low occupancy rate, the objective is to free up space on the surface and fill unused space underground. In total, these operations made it possible to remove 210 surface parking spaces and deconstruct 4,500 m2.
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