 |
| Last night we dined at Le Select, a bistro very near our apartment on the Avenue Emile Zola. |
The plans will add 5 acres of green space to what is already there, and it will reach out to both sides in the creation of vegetated pedestrian ways and other amenities.
Where it reaches out into the 15th arrondissement (the tower itself is in the 7th arrondissement), the plan calls for a Promenade Bir Hakeim all along the Quai Branly, from the Eiffel Tower to the Bir Hakeim bridge and metro station.
Ports are down at the riverbank level; a quai is up at the street level. So while the river bank is already pedestrianized in this area, the quai is still mainly for cars. The Quai Branly has much potential for a promenade plantée because the pedestrian space is there; it just needs to be improved with trees, shrubs, and flowerbeds to separate the people from the cars.
 |
| We each ordered a sea bass filet with a perfect beurre blanc sauce. |
Public art will be added here and there along the promenade, and so will informative/educational signs or plaques.
A soccer field called the Stade Emile Anthoine will remain, but its ample extra space will be used to house a youth center, a gastronomic center, and the offices for the company that operates the Eiffel Tower.
The center for "haute gastronomie" interests me. Is it a cooking school? I hope so!
The triangular space in the intersection of the Rue Jean Rey and the Quai Branly will become a new public square, the Place Emile Anthoine -- a perfect place for Tom and me to rest after we've been walking for a half an hour or so.
This promenade and the Place Emile Anthoine are just two small pieces of the grand plan for this huge, unified park. The total price tag for the park is about $80 million, and the completion is scheduled for 2024 -- in time for the Paris Olympics.
Paris can do it. I am thrilled to be able to see this transformation in the coming years.
 |
| Wild paintings in the window of Espace Ysmailoff on the Avenue de Suffren. |
No comments:
Post a Comment