Build It And They Will Ride.
LOTS of them will ride.
"The study by the Institut Paris Region, an urban planning agency, found that Parisians opted for bicycles for 11.2 percent of their trips within the city itself, compared to only 4.3 percent for cars.
Walking was the option for most trips at 53.5 percent, followed by public transport at 30 percent."
https://www.thelocal.fr/20240412/bikes-overtake-cars-as-means-of-transport-in-paris
#Paris to Replace Parking Spaces With Trees
"The city’s new #climate plan promises to drop speed limits, repurpose traffic lanes, remove 60,000 #parking spots and create urban “oases” to combat #ExtremeHeat."
"Paris has embarked on a grand transformation since Anne Hidalgo became mayor in 2014, planting 155,000 trees, adding several hundred kilometres of bike lanes, pedestrianising 300 school streets and banning cars from the banks of the Seine."
“What’s missing in the rest of the world is courage,” [a resident] said. “Mayors could say: ‘This is my opportunity [to leave a] legacy,’ but most will not dare.”
Reclaiming the streets for people requires Olympic amounts of political courage. It must have been incredibly hard to stand up to the establishment car heads, the more so because Hidalgo is a woman.
"Political veteran says she faced ‘French misogyny and machismo’ while making Paris greener and more peaceful."
Makes sense. It's a true joy to walk Paris.
CelloMom On Cars
Mark Ohe