On departmental road 43 between Jonquières and Sérignan-du-Comtat, at the intersection with Chemin des Sablas in the town of Camaret-sur-Aygues, a small group of retirees is calling for the creation of a roundabout. “It’s a very busy area and we’ve been wanting to improve the situation for two decades”, explains Bernard Dianoux, member of the collective and one of the instigators of the petition. This collective of citizens is concerned about the dangerousness of this road. “The last accident to date of which we are aware occurred on December 2, and it is very regular”insists Michel, also retired.
Up to 15,000 cars per day
– Julia Beaufils
To support their claim, the small group took turns last November on this dangerous crossing. Meter in hand, they detailed slice by slice, Monday and Friday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., the flow of vehicles using this axis. “The results are instructive: on the D43 we reach around 10,500 passages, but we must also add the vehicles arriving by the Chemin des Sablas. We therefore arrive at nearly 13,000 car passages”, is indignant Bernard Dianoux. According to him, if we also count the passages during the night, the figure can climb up to 15,000 vehicles per day.
A petition to be heard
So a dozen retirees have joined forces because they feel neglected by the public authorities. No question of going online to raise awareness among other residents and obtain signatures for their petition launched shortly before the 2021 end-of-year holidays. “We want to be able to discuss and communicate our concerns with motorists. So we surveyed the parking lot of a shopping center in our town, the entrance to the recycling center or even the market and a crossroads where we could park cars. details Bernard Dianoux. So far they have collected 1,200 signatures. The petition closes in mid-February and will then be sent to the various State services in charge of roads.