Mulhouse. Briand-Franklin Axis: One-Way Signs Prolong a Difficult Year for Shopkeepers in 2025
"The watchword is catastrophe," summarizes the manager of a business on Avenue Aristide-Briand in Mulhouse. Accustomed to living in step with the construction site, the neighborhood's shopkeepers were not stunned. But the closure of the road since July 16th—implemented by new one-way signs on Rue de Pfastatt, Rue de l'Aigle, and Rue Josué-Heilmann—has exacerbated the decline in footfall already triggered by a year of construction.
"We now depend almost exclusively on people from the neighborhood. Those from outside can no longer find access," laments Karen, an optician at Écouter/Voir, who has noticed a drop in sales for a year now. A situation that echoes that experienced by other businesses on Franklin Street, all the way to the end of Aristide-Briand Avenue. " Since Wednesday, July 16 , we've clearly had a drop in customers," confirms a grocery store clerk on the avenue, who notes that deliveries are taking up to an hour longer to arrive. "The pastries arrive soggy," adds a neighboring baker, who almost temporarily closed her business the day after the one-way signs were put in place, so much so that the drop in traffic was felt. She ultimately opted to reduce her hours. The neighboring butcher shop, however, is completely closed until the work is completed in September.
A neighboring business, which now stays open until 8 p.m. instead of 6 p.m., has found a way to make it easier for customers to access its store—or rather, its products—by developing a website. "We're adapting as best we can," he says with a laugh. "The economic impact is real, but we're trying to see the glass half full."
This manager agrees with the objective: "Perhaps we have become lazy with the car. Now, we are relearning how to get around differently . This development is a very good thing, it is good for us, for pollution, for the city." He mentions the study citing the 15,000 vehicles a day that until recently used the Briand axis, and praises the quality of the developments carried out further on, on Boulevard Roosevelt .
This observation is shared by a bus driver who regularly uses the route. He anticipates that, once the work is complete, there will be better sharing of space for pedestrians , in an area where he must remain particularly vigilant. "There are a lot of pedestrians, it's a good thing to reduce the number of cars." So far, he has not observed any impact on his bus schedules. He attributes this fluidity to the presence of police officers, posted at the entrance to Aristide-Briand Avenue, from the first bus in the morning to the last in the evening. They regulate access reserved for those with rights and continue to inform motorists who have not yet familiarized themselves with the new traffic directions. The police officers will remain in place at least until September, the time to stabilize traffic and avoid obstructive parking on the bus lane.
The closure since July 16 marks a new stage in the transformation of the Briand-Franklin axis, designed to reduce motorized traffic in the city center.
“Stressla”, a name from yesterday for the street of tomorrow
As part of the redevelopment of Avenue Aristide-Briand, an old name has emerged: "Stressla." This Alsatian name, little known to the general public, was mentioned during municipal discussions surrounding the project, as a nod to the street's popular history. "Little path." This is what "Stressla" means in Alsatian dialect. A modest, almost affectionate name, given to Avenue Aristide-Briand, yet one of Mulhouse's major thoroughfares. The term refers to a time when the street was still only a secondary axis, long before its transformation into the city's major artery.
Avenue Briand, opened at the turn of the 20th century to connect the city center to the Foundry and the western suburbs, has undergone numerous transformations over the decades. It gradually became a major transit route, carrying up to 15,000 vehicles per day before the work began.
Little used todayIn the 1990s, the City of Mulhouse launched a bilingual signage campaign , designed to display street names in both French and Alsatian. This policy aimed to preserve and promote the regional dialect, which was then in decline in public spaces. Avenue Aristide-Briand thus officially received its Alsatian name: "Stressla", which has been displayed on street signs since 2007.
This term recalls the linguistic history of Mulhouse and the discreet place of Alsatian in the urban landscape. While it is rarely used orally today, perhaps the people of Mulhouse will take it up again... As they will with the new look of their avenue.
Mulhouse - Readers' Words
Following recent articles published on the closure of the Briand-Franklin road in Mulhouse, several readers have responded on our website. These messages reflect contrasting views: some welcome the ecological approach, while others are concerned about the concrete consequences for traffic or accessibility.
▶ “Think!”
"I'm starting to get a bit older, but I make an effort to get around the city on foot or by public transport, depending on the weather. My motivations: to minimize pollution, to get some exercise, and, looking up, to discover architectural details on many buildings. My wishes: more severity towards vehicles that clutter the sidewalks and a strengthening of urban transport in the evening."
▶ “bidou6868”
"They say they have thought about people with reduced mobility, but have they even considered putting themselves in their shoes and testing the practicality, even if it is just in a manual wheelchair?"
▶ “zazar01”
"In a previous article, I saw that 12,000 to 15,000 cars a day passed through. Where will they go from now on? Briand-Franklin is one of the very few major roads in Mulhouse. Closing it without an alternative solution is irresponsible. And now, how can you get, for example, to Rue des Vergers (Bethesda nursing home) from the Fonderie (with a trunk full of equipment)?"
▶ "eschwarzy"
“How do we get to Rue du Gaz or to Rue Engel-Dollfus?”
Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace
