Located in the heart of the city, this work will offer a new contemporary image of the harbor and will not only enhance soft mobility but also the attractiveness of this privileged site for Geneva residents and tourists.
History and context
For twenty years, the use of bicycles in the city has continued to increase. On the Mont-Blanc bridge, cyclists quickly found themselves in difficult cohabitation with pedestrians, given the width of the sidewalks.
To address this issue, the City of Geneva organized in 2012 a competition for the development of a new footbridge intended for pedestrians only. The group of agents formed by the offices of Pierre-Alain Dupraz architectes and Ingeni structural engineering won the first prize.
Following the result of the competition, it was then necessary to negotiate fiercely with the Compagnie Générale de Navigation (CGN), which feared that certain boats in its fleet could no longer navigate in the Rade. The studies carried out in collaboration with the CGN have made it possible to find a concerted solution that modifies the installation of the footbridgewithout affecting its basic architectural concept, with a displacement of 22 m upstream of the two landing stages located on the left bank (Barometer and English Garden landing stages).
With the commissioning in 2019 of the 1.70 m unidirectional cycle path, parallel to the sidewalk upstream of the bridge, the situation has improved a little, without however being resolved. The Mont Blanc bridge remains today one of the busiest bridges in the Canton and the cohabitation between the different users is complicated.
A new two-way cycle path
Located in the small harbor upstream from the Mont-Blanc bridge, the new pedestrian footbridge will allow finalize the pedestrian promenade along the quays by easily linking the right bank to the left bank and vice versa, and to free up the sidewalk upstream of the Mont-Blanc bridge for the benefit of bicycles. This new two-way cycle path will offer bicycles the possibility of carrying out the Cycle lake U continuously by connecting the two bidirectional cycle paths located on the Quai du Mont-Blanc and on the Quai Gustave-Ador.
The pedestrian footbridge and its above and below ground areas will be built on the cantonal public domain. The Canton must therefore authorize this occupation of its public domain, and, according to the regulations in force, it is expected that this authorization takes the form of an occupation concession granted to the City by the Grand Council.
A metal footbridge
The projected structure of the footbridge is representative of a remarkable work of art in the image of the exceptional site in which it is established. With its single pier off-center in the lake (in line with Rousseau Island), the footbridge offers two spans of approximately 78 m and 156 m, totaling a length of 234 m between the two shores. An imposing embedding will stabilize the structure on the left bank, while a simple support will suffice on the right bank.
THE avant-garde concept of the footbridge structure with its single pier in the lake will minimize the impact on the lake bottom and therefore on sub-lake biodiversity (by comparison, the Mont-Blanc bridge has 10 support piers in the lake ).
The footbridge deck will provide a comfortable walking space for pedestrians with free passage 4.8 m wide and a bench, leaning against the static box of the footbridge and of variable width, oriented towards the harbour, which will accompany this walk along the entire length of the footbridge.
The entire project as well as the facilities on both banks will be fully accessible to people with reduced mobility (PRM).
The realization of such a work in the center of Genevaabove Lake Geneva, will require very complex preparation and organization in stages to minimize the impacts on all mobility, land and lake.
The funding requested from the City Council amounts to 26,172,000 francs. Selected as part of the first agglomeration project, the work can also count on federal funding of 5,270,000 francs and cantonal support of 13,160,000 francs. A private foundation has also agreed to support the project with 10 million francs.
contacts
Department of planning, constructions and mobility
Mrs Frédérique Perler, administrative advisor, through Mr Marc Moulin, personal collaborator: 022 418 20 17 – 076 210 48 16, @E-mail
Department of Safety and Sports
Ms Marie Barbey-Chpuiss, administrative adviser, via Mr Cédric Waelti, management adviser in charge of communication, 079 596 19 79, @E-mail
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