Soon brand new escalators at the Triangle, in Montpellier

Cette semaine encore, des intervenants côté Polygone mais des escaliers mécaniques toujours à l’arrêt. Midi Libre – JEAN-MICHEL MART

La Métropole a lancé un appel d’offres pour remplacer les quatre escaliers mécaniques du Triangle, en panne depuis deux ans. Du matériel neuf devrait être installé l’hiver prochain.

The public call for tenders is closed. It is stipulated, in the title, that it concerns the "replacement of four escalators in the town of Montpellier". Launched in January by the Métropole de Montpellier, it closed on March 8. We can read that it concerns the complete replacement of four escalators (including maintenance) in the Le Triangle shopping mall (2 Comédie side, 2 Polygon side)". This for a period of 39 months.

A private site but maintenance is the responsibility of the community

Equipment that works (what's more, it's brand new), it's about time, as the problems are recurring and the stairs in question are failing. In September 2022, noting a general breakdown since June of the same year, the co-ownership engaged in a standoff with the Metropolis to try to find solutions (repairs, changes), even threatening the community of a legal action. Because if the site is private, it is " subject to a pedestrian easement agreement for public passage. In return for which the town hall ensures the maintenance, lighting and repair of the affected areas, including the escalators", explained to us at the  ;rsquo;then the trustee, François Lacombe.

Start of work in the fall

Since then, although repairers have intervened on the site, the said stairs have remained almost exclusively at a standstill. At best, and temporarily, only one was put back into service. But that should be okay. For the moment, the analysis of the file and the offers are in progress. And the rest ? "According to the established schedule, the replacement work will begin in the fall, with planned commissioning of the new devices winter 2024-2025& ;quot;, specifies the Metropolis. It is up to the co-ownership to then make the necessary efforts so that the Triangle regains some of its former luster. As a reminder, in the long term, the Triangle is included in the Ricardo-Bofill ZAC, which should redesign the entire district, from the Triangle to the banks of the Lez.

Also read: Montpellier: a standoff engaged around the Triangle's failing escalators

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