In Paris, fighting against the car and the motorcycle turns out to be more difficult than expected by Anne Hidalgo. After delaying the implementation of paid parking for motorized two-wheelers until September, the socialist mayor has just postponed the ban on transit traffic in the center of Paris for a year and a half. Initially scheduled for the first half of 2022, the implementation of this flagship measure of the program of the red-pink-green coalition which rules Paris is now planned for the beginning of 2024, the town hall announced on Thursday February 17.
The objective remains unchanged. In their action against pollution, Anne Hidalgo and her team still want to drastically reduce the traffic of cars, motorcycles and scooters in the historic heart of Paris. The mayor first mentioned “the pedestrianization of the center of Paris”. Then she clarified her project: it is not a question of blocking all vehicles, only those which only cross the center of the capital. That’s about one in two cars. Eventually, transit traffic must therefore become prohibited in a vast area covering all of the first four arrondissements, as well as parts of the 5e6e and 7e arrondissements located between Boulevard Saint-Germain and the Seine.
Problem: if it is acclaimed by part of the population, this very symbolic project of action against the all-car is also very criticized, especially on the right. Many elected officials and professionals fear a massive postponement of traffic around the forbidden zone, therefore new traffic jams, and a transfer of pollution. Legal action seems inevitable. “As with the closure of the lanes on the banks, which only led to a displacement of pollution to the periphery and not its reduction, Anne Hidalgo makes political displays”, deplore the elected Republicans led by Rachida Dati, who “categorically oppose the project”.
Impact study
“As we are expected at the turn, we wanted to make this project more solid, especially from a legal point of view”, explains David Belliard, the environmental assistant in charge of transport. The mayor of Paris therefore took the lead and consulted the environmental authority. The latter has just delivered its verdict: given the scale of this project, it is necessary to submit it to a more cumbersome process than envisaged. That is to say, to carry out an impact study, to obtain the opinion of the Environmental Authority, and to carry out a public inquiry.
You have 49% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.