The Sunday market at nearby Descartes is popular with locals and tourists alike - although at this time there are fewer of them (tourists) about. Over the summer most of our guests visited the market on what was normally their first full day in Southern Touraine.They almost all had a problem with regards to getting in and out of the village.This was down to the ever changing priorities on Rue Descartes,the road leading up to the main parking and market place. The commune have been trying to find the solution to the problem of a road that was never designed to have parked cars plus high volume through traffic.Indeed as far as I can see, here we have a town around which the region has built a bypass that fails to do just that bypass! Maybe there is a future plan but it has been this way for a long long time. Anyway in an effort to find the solution they made the street one-way in a way that meant you had good access to the town but it was a bit of a problem, especially for visitors,to get back out!. They then tried it one-way in the opposite direction! You can imagine the confusion this caused as this was happening over a consultation period of weeks.
After pressure, I understand, from the commercial enterprises and general public of the town, sanity has prevailed and things are back to where they were with a slight change in that priority is given to traffic entering the town.Lets hope this is the end to the experiment and next summer our guest will have less of a problem taking advantage of what is a great asset to tourism in this area.
The one-way direction seemed to change every time we visited France this year !!
ReplyDeleteOn one occasion, we stood and watched two enormous lorries cause havoc because they had come through the middle of town - which is quite a feat in itself - and couldn't make the tight right turn to get out the other side. So they had no option to go the wrong way down the one-way street in your picture.
The next time we were there, the priority had changed the other way so big lorries could get through legally. Now it looks like they have changed it back again !!
We always park down by the river on market day and walk up into town. Much easier and quicker than sprottling with all the traffic and parked cars !!
We have taken to parking in car park on the right just as you enter town and walking the length of Rue Descartes for same reason.
ReplyDeleteThe "Only way is OUT" was the best option as getting in is fairly simple if you go to the second exit at the "barrel-about" and take first left just before the "sump-remover" hump.
ReplyDeleteWith the priority IN it is immmmpossssible to get yourself over to the right hand side of the road when you get round the slight bend by the Musee Descartes and see someone coming up the hill... because of the aforementioned PARKED cars with no 'lay-by' spaces.
And in the two ex-British cars I do have the advantage of seeing the rest of that hill before a left-hand drive car. With the '56 2CV I do not go via that route at all!
As for the BIG lorries... these villages were never designed for such monsters... look at Simon and Susan's posts about Preuilly's problems.
Tim,I am well acquainted with the aptly named "sump-remover"
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