About

The ongoing requalification of Rue Garibaldi in Lyon represents a significant case of contemporary urban transformation within a dense European metropolis. Initiated by the Métropole de Lyon, the project seeks to retrofit a mid-twentieth-century arterial road—originally conceived as a quasi-motorway—into a multimodal, climate-adaptive urban boulevard. The intervention forms part of the Plan Part-Dieu, a flagship regeneration strategy for the city’s central business district, and aligns with metropolitan frameworks such as the Plan Local d’Urbanisme et de l’Habitat (PLU-H), the Plan d’Aménagement et de Développement Durable (PADD), and the Voies Lyonnaises cycling network within the 2021–2026 multi-year investment programme.

The scheme covers approximately 2.7 kilometres of the north–south corridor connecting the 3ᵉ, 6ᵉ and 7ᵉ arrondissements. Its third phase, currently under construction between rue d’Arménie and Grande rue de la Guillotière, extends over roughly 630 metres. The design approach reconfigures the traffic layout by reducing automobile lanes from five to two, introducing segregated cycleways and dedicated bus lanes, and expanding pedestrian spaces.

Complementary environmental measures include the planting of 156 trees, the installation of 3.400 m² of vegetated strips, and the incorporation of sustainable drainage systems to enhance permeability and mitigate urban heat-island effects. A key morphological operation involves the removal of the former “trémie” underpass, which had reinforced the road’s barrier effect and hindered cross-neighbourhood permeability. By re-establishing the street at grade, the project restores physical and visual continuity between districts and repositions Rue Garibaldi as a civic rather than purely infrastructural axis. In parallel, adjacent public spaces such as Place Rachais and Place Stalingrad are being re-landscaped to accommodate social use and ecological functions.

From an institutional perspective, the initiative illustrates coordinated metropolitan governance. The Métropole de Lyon and Ville de Lyon jointly oversee planning, financing and public consultation, supported by agencies such as the Agence de l’eau Rhône-Méditerranée-Corse for water management components. Implementation is phased to maintain urban continuity during construction, with full completion projected for early 2026 and landscape installation scheduled for late 2025.