which departments are best equipped for cycling safely

The Collectif Vélo en Île-de-France has evaluated the cycling policies of the region's departments since 2021. In a report published this Tuesday, it points to disparities between the outer and inner suburbs, but highlights the efforts of certain departments such as Seine- Saint-Denis.

“All the departments of Île-de-France are making efforts for the safety of cyclists.” Louis Belenfant is optimistic. The president of the Collectif Vélo Île-de-France led a report last October on the actions of the Ile-de-France departments in favor of cyclists. Result: “There is a strong disparity between the departments of the inner and outer suburbs. In the inner suburbs, Val-de-Marne, Seine-Saint-Denis and Hauts-de-Seine are putting more financial and human resources into achieving their objectives, which are also much higher.” than other departments.

Generally speaking, the report notes that the seven departments of Île-de-France, outside of Paris, now all have a bicycle plan. However, the collective believes that “the majority of communities have fallen behind on their initial promises.”

Seine-Saint is the department which has created the most cycle paths since 2021, according to the collective. According to Louis Belenfant, the poorest department in mainland France knew “take advantage of the opportunities presented to him to develop the bicycle.”

He cites in particular the “coronapists” set up during the health crisis and the Olympics with 18 kilometers of “Olympists” to circulate in the department. In total, Seine-Saint-Denis has completed 41.4 kilometers of cycling facilities since 2021.

The collective estimates that Seine-Saint-Denis has fulfilled half of its objective which was to be fulfilled in 2024: to become a 100% cycle-friendly department. “This is not yet the case and there is still work to be done, but the progress is encouraging.“, comments the president of the collective. He is himself a cyclist in Seine-Saint-Denis and notes that “certain portions of the department remain poorly served and unsafe for cyclists.”

With Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis has achieved more than a third of its commitments in terms of cycle lanes since 2021.

The report evaluated all departments outside Paris using figures from the various departmental councils. If Seine-Saint-Denis and Hauts-de-Seine are the most productive, Essonne and Yvelines are falling behind their respective objectives. According to the report, Essonne has only built 9.3 kilometers of cycle paths over the past 3 years.

“Both departments are evolving, but must do even better. Certainly, many of their inhabitants travel by car, but this is also the case in Val-d'Oise where a motorway project was abandoned and more and more efforts are being made for cycling..”

Launched in 2022, the Yvelines bicycle plan targets, for example, 230 kilometers of cycle lanes by 2027 according to department data. Regarding the majority use of the car in Essonne, the department notes that 59% of Essonians say they travel mainly by car.

For each department, the collective made recommendations to improve the daily lives of cyclists. “Our priority is safety. It is noted that the majority of cyclist deaths in Île-de-France take place in the outer suburbs while there are fewer cyclists than in the inner suburbs. This shows that there is an infrastructure problem in several departments. In many places, cyclists are forced to put themselves in danger to travel properly.“

Although cycling is exploding in Paris, the collective affirms that the efforts of the outer suburbs departments can make it possible “to bring more people to cycling.“The collective made up of 42 cycling associations believes that”the departments have a major role to play in the development of cycling.”