Urban planning and environmental news out of Paris hasn’t been so good lately: A recent study looked at the connection between Airbnb and the shrinking population in some areas of the city, while the French capital’s pollution problem continued to make headlines.
Well, Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo has a plan to combat the particulate-filled air in one of the world’s most-visited tourist destinations: banning cars (again). It’s an escalation of recently announced anti-pollution measures, part of a campaign called “Paris Breathes,” that has included closing off two miles of the Seine’s Right Bank off to vehicular traffic and, more recently, enacting a three-day restriction that banned cars with even or odd license plate endings on alternate days.
Hidalgo told French newspaper Journal du Dimanche that the goal is to “reconquer public space” on behalf of people traveling by bike and on foot. What will this mean in practical terms? A 1 km (a little over a half-mile) stretch of the Seine from the Place de la Concorde to the Pont Royal will officially be off limits to cars, along with “two main roads running east to west,” says The Independent.
An electric tram, being touted as the city bids for the 2024 Olympics, is also in the works, an opportunity for the city to develop overground public transit with less environmental impact, alongside efforts to regulate pollution from taxis and private cars.
Via: The Independent