Lyon Metropolis Unveils Comprehensive Action Plan to Address Mobility Crisis
Lyon, June 9, 2026 – In response to what it describes as a ‘mobility crisis,’ the Lyon Metropolis has presented an extensive ‘action plan’ designed to rebalance transport usage, restore traffic fluidity, and improve the quality of life for its inhabitants. The announcement was made during a lengthy press conference held in Oullins-Pierre-Bénite, led by Véronique Sarselli, President of the Metropolis, alongside several of her vice-presidents, including Gilles Gascon, Pierre Oliver, Marie-Hélène Mathieu, and Christophe Geourjon.
For over an hour, Sarselli, the former mayor of Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon, reviewed six years of ecological governance before detailing the new initiatives aimed at launching a ‘new stage for metropolitan mobilities.’ She emphasized the numerous ‘bottlenecks’ currently plaguing the region, citing figures to ‘objectify the context.’ Gilles Gascon, Vice-President for Mobilities and Public Transport and Mayor of Saint-Priest, echoed these concerns, stating, ‘The mobility problem is massive and affects the daily lives of our metropolitan residents.’ He added that Lyon is ‘one of the most congested cities in France,’ leading to ‘maximum tension with all users. It’s a mobility crisis that penalizes everyone.’
A Three-Phase Plan to ‘Rebalance and Fluidify’
The Metropolitan Council’s plan addresses various issues, from increased parking fees in central Lyon to difficulties faced by traders due to ‘works that have paralyzed traffic in the Presqu’île of Lyon.’ The new strategy is ‘based on the observation of real usage, the evaluation of the effects of developments, and the search for concrete solutions.’
‘For several years, too many decisions have been perceived as brutal, unclear, or imposed,’ stated Sarselli, signaling a departure from previous approaches. ‘Today, we want to open a new stage through a plan that will be structured in three phases, with a roadmap that began the day after our election,’ she explained.
- Phase 1: ‘Rebalance and Fluidify’ (First 100 days) – This phase prioritizes the traffic plan within the metropolis.
- Phase 2: ‘Repair Service Quality’ (First six months) – Special attention will be given to Rue Grenette, the ZTL (Low Emission Zone), and the quality of public transport services.
- Phase 3: ‘Secure All Mobilities’ (First 18 months) – This phase includes the implementation of a metropolitan transport police force by the end of 2026, a promise made by Véronique Sarselli during her election campaign.
Express Audit and Participatory Platform Launched
While avoiding immediate, groundbreaking announcements, the Lyon Metropolis revealed several key initiatives. An ‘express audit’ will be conducted internally to map the main blocking points in the agglomeration. ‘The map, which will be published within 30 days, should allow us to take rapid action,’ promised Gilles Gascon.
Furthermore, a new participatory platform was launched on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, enabling residents to ‘report absurd or dangerous situations’ concerning road infrastructure. ‘Through this platform, which will be open for six weeks, we are making a real call for contributions from residents, which should enable us to propose concrete solutions,’ detailed Pierre Oliver, Vice-President for Roads.
Traffic lights on certain road sections, such as Rue de la Barre and Quai Romain-Rolland on the Saône quays in Lyon, will also be reprogrammed in the coming days. ‘We realize that on this quay, there is indeed a 50% reduction in traffic, but in parallel, we observe increasingly strong congestion,’ explained Véronique Sarselli. She attributed this to ‘a traffic plan that is not well thought out and completely counterproductive,’ confirming that the bollards at the exit of the Saint-Jean parking lot would be removed ‘before summer, once the traffic lights have been reprogrammed.’
Long-Term Vision and Freezing Parking Fees
The Metropolis also announced plans to relocate certain bus stops in Place Bellecour. Sarselli confirmed that an experiment to manage and reprogram traffic lights in real-time using artificial intelligence would be launched by the end of the year.
In a significant move, the Lyon Metropolis has frozen LPA parking fees, which were scheduled to increase on August 1. A broad institutional campaign will also be launched by September 2026 to ‘reiterate common rules and prevent opposition between users of public space.’
Finally, the collectivity announced the organization of metropolitan mobility forums in the last quarter of 2026 to ‘establish a long-term vision’ for daily mobilities. ‘Today, we are in crisis management,’ reiterated Gilles Gascon, expressing alarm about the state of traffic in the Lyon Metropolis. ‘We do not want to be ideological, but we want to be pragmatic to quickly improve the situation,’ added Véronique Sarselli, concluding, ‘It’s time to restore order and respect in all of this.’
With this action plan, Véronique Sarselli intends to mark a break with the previous ecological mandate, even if, for now, the Metropolis promises more diagnostics, consultations, and experiments than immediate upheavals. This caution is assumed by the executive, who will now have to convince that the time for observation does not delay the time for action.
