Page - 131 - in Mobile Culture Studies - The Journal, Volume 3/2017

Mobile Culture Studies. The Journal 3 2o17 Patrick Naef | Using mobility and urban planning to implement atmosphere 131 in a hurry. Nevertheless, Julien Thirion, engineer in the Mobility Department of the City of Fribourg, insists that priority be given to pedestrians: ‘That the aim is for pedestrians to appropri- ate this space for themselves, provided they do not unnecessarily interfere with the traffic.’ (Personal communication, 18 August 2017) We face here an interpretive and relative appreciation of what is considered as ‘pedestrians unnecessarily interfering’ with other users, such as motorists. These ambiguities in the management of traffic moderation, illustrated here by the occupation of this straight main road, are a central concern for the inhabitants and pedestrian users of the area: ‘There is no space to walk on the side if we are more than two. If we walk in the middle, we’ll be either insulted or honked at. […] Even youngsters, when they are in large groups and should have priority, gather on the sides.’ (personal communication, 10 May 2017) Installing street furniture mainly along the sides of this straight axis, and not in the middle, recreated the effect of a road, where pedestrians are pushed to the edges and vehicles wander freely in the centre. As stated by another habitant: ‘The problem is that it is a boulevard! Cars in the centre and pedestrians cornered on the sides.’ The straight configuration of the road section is also seen as a cause for the non-respect of the 20 km/h speed limit; some point out that in such a context it is hard to respect this rule even when riding a bicycle. The non-respect of the speed limit thus impacts on the atmosphere of the place, as an inhabitant confirmed: ‘Because it is a transit road, it is not here that one will find a “neighbourhood life” [“vie de quartier” in French]. The problem, if you want to get a sense of “living together”, is that you have motorists who are commuting and do not have social links with the neighbourhood.’ (Personal communication, 9 May 2017) The fact that many users are disconnected from the neighbourhood is thus considered a reason for their lack of respect toward the inhabitants, and an increase in tensions. The success of the Joseph-Piller Encounter zone is called into question by city stakeholders themselves, like this official of the Fribourg road construction office: ‘It does not work in an optimal way. I think the process was kind of politically driven. We would have been more in favor of Fig. 2: Photo by Patrick Naef