On the Paris ring road, the general increase to 50 kilometers per hour

The maximum speed for the entire Paris ring road officially increased to 50 kilometers per hour (km/h) on Thursday October 10. A decision taken by the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo (Socialist Party), in the name of health and road safety, but strongly contested by the right.

The last signs putting an end to the 70 km/h limit, in force for ten years, were to be installed during the night from Wednesday to Thursday, on the entire 35 kilometer ring which surrounds the capital. This new regulation began on 1^is October on a section of the ring road, between the Porte des Lilas (North-East) and the Porte d’Orléans (South). In total, 160 signs were changed to signify the passage to 50 km/h, instead of 70 km/h.

Objective put forward by the Paris City Hall, owner of the road: to reduce nuisance for the 550,000 residents on either side of the urban motorway. “When you reduce the speed, you reduce the noise for all the people who live near this ring road. We are going to give them more quality of life and especially more quality of night. The right to sleep is extremely important”declared on 1^is October, David Belliard, deputy mayor in charge of transport (ecologist).

The noise observatory in Ile-de-France, Bruitparif, expects a gain of 2 to 3 decibels “not negligible” for people exposed to nuisances beyond regulatory values. The reduction in speed also aims to reduce serious accidents on this axis which accommodates more than a million daily trips, argues the Town Hall.

The beneficial effect on air pollution is more debated, even if some experts count on limiting the acceleration and braking phases (stop and go) to reduce brake dust emitting toxic fine particles. With an average daytime speed estimated at 37 km/h, the new limitation should only have a major impact at odd times.

Launch of a “peripheral barometer”

“It almost only affects night and early morning workers”forced to take the ring road to go from suburb to suburb, deplored the president of the Ile-de-France Valérie region, Valérie Pécresse (LR), who denounces a measure “socially unjust”like the Ile-de-France employers (SMEs, artisans, road transport, hotels and restaurants, etc.).

The regional president announced the creation of a “barometer of the ring road to give Parisians all the data on pollution, noise, congestion and car speed from October”.

She will not take legal action, the drop in speed being “exclusive jurisdiction of Paris City Hall”she recognized, like the new Minister of Transport, François Durovray (Les Républicains), also president of the departmental council of Essonne, also opposed to the new limitation.

The minister and Anne Hidalgo agreed that an analysis “continuous and independent” of lowering the speed would be carried out, with an assessment in one year. “If the results turn out to be negative and the mayor of Paris does not draw conclusions, the minister reserves the possibility of changing the law so that this subject does not fall within the sole competence of the mayor”warns the ministry.