From this Tuesday, October 1, the speed on the Paris ring road will be lowered to 50km/h. Anne Hidalgo’s desire to reduce noise pollution and reduce air pollution. But this measure is far from unanimous among motorists.
From this Tuesday, October 1, the speed on the Paris ring road will be limited to 50 km/h, instead of 70 km/h. A decision by the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, which aims to reduce noise and pollution but which is causing debate among motorists.
Because some fear even greater traffic jams on this already very clogged route. But with the average traffic speed being 37 km/h, lowering the speed to 50 km/h should not have a major impact.
- Reduce noise pollution
The measure aims above all to reduce nuisance for the 550,000 residents of the 500 meter strip around the boulevard. Including around 30,000 living on the front line, exposed beyond the regulatory values set at 68 decibels, according to Bruitparif. With a limit of 50 km/h, the noise observatory expects “a significant gain of 2 to 3 decibels” when traffic is not congested, explains its director, Fanny Mietlicki. So mainly at night, when noise pollution is most harmful to health.
- A real gain for air quality?
The benefit of reducing speed on air quality is more complex to measure because many factors are involved. On the motorway, for example, driving slower clearly leads to a significant reduction in toxic gas emissions. But in the case of the ring road, studies on comparable speed reductions have shown more mixed, even harmful effects, depending on the axis measured, concluded the Environment Agency (Ademe) in a summary published in 2014 It will also be necessary to measure whether the new limitation causes more traffic jams and pollution transfers to other routes. Or ultimately, as the Paris town hall hopes, a shift towards other forms of mobility that are less polluting than the car.
The measure must apply from Tuesday after publication of a municipal decree, the ring road being property of Paris town hall. It will be done section by section, to be generalized to the entire ring on October 10, time to change the signage. “We are not going to fine motorists from October 1, there will be a transition period,” assures the first deputy at Paris town hall, Patrick Bloche.
