Interview: Gilles Duquenoy, agricultural engineer and project manager at Île-de-France Nature

When you heard about the C1 Cable project, what were your first reactions?

Everything that makes up La Végétale - wooded and natural spaces, pedestrian and cycle paths in a preserved landscape - could at first glance seem quite far from an urban cable car project. Our project was already well advanced and, in the face of our concerns, Île-de-France Mobilités immediately committed to carrying out extensive partnership work in order to allow a good integration of the infrastructure into the natural areas, by looking for adapted and safe technical solutions to keep trees below the line. This partnership work was initiated from the first studies of the cable car in 2014 and has continued throughout the various stages of the project (schematic, AVP, PRO, etc.).

In your opinion, what were the particular challenges of inserting the C1 Cable into the green corridor? And how were they handled by SMER and Île-de-France Mobilités?

For example, the close partnership work has made it possible to adapt the location and height of the pylons in order to preserve as many trees as possible and to preserve local biodiversity. The transplantation of trees that cannot be kept below the line, reforestation, the reconstitution of new natural environments such as wetlands are also part of the positive actions carried out in collaboration. More generally, the design of the pylons and their foundations, the architecture of the stations and the landscaping of the forecourts have been finely worked on by the architects and landscape architects of Île-de-France Mobilités and Île-de-France Nature who are designing the facilities for the SMER.

What are the benefits expected by the users of the green corridor with the C1 Cable?

La Végétale will of course benefit local residents for their daily journeys, but it will also be a major facility for access to nature and for leisure activities. Thanks to the partnership work carried out, with 3 stations directly accessible from the greenway, the two projects are part of a common objective of improving the quality of life of the inhabitants. La Végétale is a privileged access to the C1 for daily travel and the C1 forms an easy access to La Végétale and the Ile-de-France green belt for leisure. And this is all the more so since bicycles will be allowed on board the cabins!