To adapt to global warming, Rennes will rediscover the Vilaine

This project, with a budget of 29 million euros supported by the city and the metropolitan area and expected to last until the summer of 2028, is intended to correct "an anomaly in the city's history," declared Nathalie Appéré, Socialist Party mayor of Rennes, during a press conference presenting the project. The Vilaine River will thus be exposed over a length of nearly 270 meters.

Built in 1963, at the time of the triumphant car and to meet the parking needs in the hyper center, the car park covers almost 6.600 m2 of the river.

"The goal is to rediscover the Vilaine, to rediscover the river," with "major challenges of sustainability, quality of life, but also public health," added the mayor, referring to the increasing number of heat waves.

According to Marc Hervé, deputy mayor responsible for urban planning, this project aims to "respond to the legitimate expectation of a right to freshness for residents and to be able to have a process of adaptation to climate changes that are already here and which, unfortunately, risk getting worse."

During the 2020-2026 mandate, 30.000 trees will have been planted in Rennes, whose 200th-century city center offered little space for greenery. Also, nearly 5.000 trees are to be planted along the quays of the Vilaine as part of this operation, and 2 m² of surface area will be planted.

Several cities have undertaken work to rehabilitate their rivers, including Seoul (South Korea), Utrecht (Netherlands), and Quimper (Finistère). Morlaix (Finistère) is also due to reopen its partially buried river.

Furthermore, the slab is showing signs of age and is sized for the size of cars dating from the 1960s, which are much lighter than those of today, thus posing load problems.

Asked about the consequences of the removal of the car park (270 spaces) for traders and local residents, Ms Appéré indicated that the parking offer was sufficient and that "the car parks are never actually saturated".