Operational study - Round Ash Sector

Located south-east of Nantes, the town of Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire has initiated a process of peaceful city, aimed at generalizing the 30 km/h limitation while requalifying certain structural axes.
The sector of Round ash, which concentrates a tertiary and leisure area with high nocturnal activity, is the subject of large-scale urban and economic projects.

Explain conducted a detailed functional study of the site, organized in three stages:

1. Multimodal diagnosis of the sector: analysis of the current functioning of the road network, parking, public transport services and current flows.
2. Estimating traffic generations linked to urban projects and distribution of flows on the existing network.
3. Multicriteria analysis development options, identifying for each the strengths, weaknesses and impacts on traffic and soft mobility.

This integrated approach made it possible to combine urban, security and mobility issues to guide Nantes Métropole's decision on the development scenario to be adopted.

The main objective of the study was to provide a comprehensive understanding of how the sector works in a context of urban development and transition to peaceful cities. Explain needed to assess the impacts of the transition to 30 km/h and future projects on local traffic, while identifying developments capable of reconciling traffic fluidity, economic attractiveness and quality of life.

The study allowed Nantes Métropole to have a clear and reasoned vision of the functioning of the sector and the expected effects of the various development scenarios.Thanks to the multi-criteria methodology, decision-makers were able to prioritize options according to their feasibility and urban coherence.Explain brought a transversal expertise, combining reading the territory, analyzing flows and an urban approach, facilitating informed decision making on the future development of Frêne Rond.

The approach adopted at Frêne Rond allowed Nantes Métropole to integrate sustainable mobility issues into the definition of its territorial project, by reconciling economic development and traffic calming.