the essential
After the controversy over the passage to 50 km/h on the Paris ring road, the Paris town hall announced the entry into force this Monday, November 4, of a limited traffic zone in four Parisian districts. We explain to you why this is once again controversial.
A new measure which is not about to delight Parisian drivers. While the announcement of the change to 50kmh/h on the Paris ring road had even the Minister of Transport reacted, Anne Hidalgo decided to apply, from this Monday, November 5, a new anti-car measure. The decree published Thursday October 31 provides for the creation of a limited traffic zone in the heart of the capital, straddling the 1is2e3e et 4e Parisian districts.
THIS IS HUGE. Paris City Hall has announced that starting on Monday, Paris will limit (not ban) car traffic in the city centre, as cities like Ghent have done. They’re creating a limited traffic zone (ZTL) about 2 sq miles in size, to clean the air & create more space for people. pic.twitter.com/6HLfmw01rG
— Brent Toderian (@BrentToderian) https://twitter.com/BrentToderian/status/1852370741716762796?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The town hall promises “a reduction in air and noise pollution”
Very concretely, this 5.5 km zone2where between 350,000 and 500,000 vehicles circulate every day, will only be accessible to emergency vehicles, public transport, taxis, motorists with reduced mobility, but also to drivers residing or working in one of the neighborhoods in the area. “This system will make it possible to reorganize the sharing of public space for the benefit of public transport, cycling and walking […] It will also lead to a reduction in air and noise pollution,” announced the Paris town hall.
Next Tuesday, the Limited Traffic Zone will finally see the light of day! It's a small revolution.
Its objective: to reduce transit traffic. That means fewer cars and therefore less pollution, less noise, more safety and peace of mind when shopping.
In… pic.twitter.com/zujy16plEz
— David Belliard (@David_Belliard) https://twitter.com/David_Belliard/status/1852041509010575433?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The town hall also specified the valid reasons on its website. If you have a medical appointment, shopping to do, or a movie screening that you can't miss, it will be possible for you to get around there. If you want to enjoy a car ride on Avenue de l'Opéra, however, that's fine. “We need to recover space to live better,” said on X, the deputy mayor of Paris in charge of the transformation of public space, David Belliard.
Oppositions denounce a “proclamation” measure
If the measure was well received by local residents' and cyclists' associations, opposition parties question the effectiveness of such a measure. “The ecological impact of this ZTL will be generally zero on the scale of Paris. This will especially lead to traffic and pollution being transferred to the peripheral districts of Paris-Centre,” the Parisian right was outraged. She also wonders about the “worrying” consequences on businesses in the neighborhoods concerned.
A measure which promises to be particularly difficult to apply. Maud Gatel, leader of the centrists of the MoDem, castigates a “'proclamation' decision, since in reality, it will be almost impossible to control entries and exits.” It is therefore not certain that this new measure will reconcile motorists and the mayor of Paris.
