An update from Paris, via The Guardian:
Paris mayor heralds ‘reconquest of Seine’ as riverbank traffic banned
Paris city council has approved the banning of all vehicles from the major road running along the right bank of the river Seine in a bitterly contested vote.
Mayor Anne Hidalgo hailed what she called a historic decision that meant the “end of the urban motorway in Paris and the reconquest of the Seine”.
Before it closed earlier this year for the annual Paris Plage city beach project, 43,000 cars a day passed over the stretch of road. It will eventually be replaced by gardens, parks, restaurants and cafes.
Before it closed earlier this year for the annual Paris Plage city beach project, 43,000 cars a day passed over the stretch of road. It will eventually be replaced by gardens, parks, restaurants and cafes.
The city council insists the closure is “definitive”. However, it still needs the approval of the police authority, which has the final word on traffic matters in the capital. …
Motorist groups vehemently opposed both left and right bank road closures, accusing the city’s socialist administration of a vendetta against drivers.
Motorist groups vehemently opposed both left and right bank road closures, accusing the city’s socialist administration of a vendetta against drivers.
“However, it still needs the approval of the police authority, which has the final word on traffic matters in the capital.”
Whoa. That’s bonkers.
A “vendetta against drivers”? Puh-lease. This and other projects to make city living better has nothing to do with that. Once again, motorist privilege sees any hindrance as oppression.
Anyway, this is great! River banks and shorelines are too special to just be used as motor traffic routes. There are other places where that can happen.
From http://sootfreecities.eu/measure/traffic-mobility we see transportation mode splits data:
Figures on the weekday modal split for 2010 show that 46.6% of people in Paris walk, 33.5% use public transport and 16.2% use cars and motorcycles as mode of transport.
By 2013,car and motorcycle use dropped to 13%. How could this possibly have been a bitterly contested vote?