About

Rue Gioffredo, located in the heart of Nice, has undergone a significant transformation as part of the city’s Trames Vertes programme, reflecting a shift toward greener, calmer, and more people-centred streets. Historically a typical central thoroughfare dominated by traffic and asphalt, it is now being reimagined as a linear garden and slow-mobility spine linking key neighbourhoods.

The transformation followed a step-by-step approach. After the tramway re-routing freed the street from bus traffic, temporary interventions were introduced around 2019–2021, including yellow-marked cycle lanes, planters, and provisional seating areas. These “préfiguration” measures tested how reducing vehicle dominance could improve public space and local commerce. Based on their success, the City of Nice and Métropole Nice Côte d’Azur launched the definitive redesign from 2021 onwards, introducing bidirectional cycle lanes in site-propre, widened pavements, Mediterranean-adapted plantings, rain-permeable surfaces, and durable street furniture.

Trees and shaded areas were planted to reduce urban heat and enhance the street’s aesthetic quality. The project is part of the broader Trames Vertes urban plan, which aims to create garden-streets, soft mobility corridors, and ecological benefits across central Nice.

By prioritising walking and cycling, the redesign encourages sustainable transport, reduces emissions, and makes the street safer and more inviting for residents. In parallel, the interventions create a social space where cafés and shops can thrive, turning Rue Gioffredo from a traffic corridor into a vibrant neighbourhood destination.

This carefully planned, phased transformation demonstrates how streets can serve mobility, environmental, and social functions simultaneously, creating a people-first urban experience in central Nice.