Strasbourg pioneers major green road project

Up to 12km of road in eastern France are being torn up as part of a pioneering environmental project.

The city of Strasbourg has already started to dig up a fully asphalted road running through a nature reserve, and is using the project to find out how quickly soil can return to its natural state.

This year, another 2.7km stretch of road formerly used by lorries delivering to the river port on the Grand Canal d’Alsace will be erased.

It runs through a national nature reserve called Neuhof-Illkirch-Graffenstaden, created in 2012 to protect part of the Neuhof forest and handed over to city management in 2014.

Walking trails

Since the election of an ecologist mayor, Jeanne Barseghian, in 2020, there have been a number of green initiatives in the city, including work in the nature reserve.

Old forestry roads have been either dug up completely or transformed into walking trails, with 3.8km of roads dismantled and closed to the public, another 1.6km of roads made into trails, and 1.8km of walking trails improved.

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Scientists from the University of Strasbourg identified 16 types of pollution associated with the road surface, mainly from the bitumen used in asphalt.

Work this year on the new section of road has involved stripping asphalt from the 8m-wide surface, and removing 50cm of the road bed underneath it.

Around €240,000 will be spent on the project.

Part of the road will be used to join the walking trail network through the nature reserve, and the rest used by scientists to study its natural regeneration.

Various experiments to see if the process can be boosted, by having dead leaves or branches piled on the road for example, will be carried out.

Connecting with nature

It is part of a wider study called PerméaSol in which various sites around the city, including car parks, are being monitored for the effects of stripping asphalt layers. It is hoped the results will show ways to reduce flooding and cool cities during heatwaves.

In addition, 1,000 trees a year are to be planted under the Plan Canopée to help make the city more resilient in the face of climate change.

Elsewhere in Strasbourg, a brand-new forest trail has been created that is especially tailored to toddlers. 

Located between Parc de Pourtalès and the adjacent nature reserve, the "Bébés en forêt" path gives young children a chance to make their first contact with the forest in a safe environment.

Along the trail are 10 wooden silhouettes representing different animals. Young explorers are encouraged to learn more about the creatures around them, and listen to the sounds of nature.

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The project was initiated by the Maison de la Petite Enfance in the district of La Robertsau and the Centre d'Initiation à la Nature et à l'Environnement in response to demand from residents.

"There was a desire on the part of families to have places that weren't necessarily traditional, artificial playgrounds. Nothing can replace contact with nature, said Mayor Jeanne Barseghian, who officially opened the trail in April.