The city council of Paris continue with its efforts to improve the quality of life and air in the French capital.
Since October 2018, on the first Sunday of the month, the centre of the capital has been be closed to traffic, except for buses and taxis. Mayor Anne Hidalgo thinks that Paris should then be a free playground for pedestrians and cyclists.
From first to fourth district
The first monthly car-free Sunday took effect , just three weeks after the 4th annual edition of the Car-Free Day. Every first Sunday of the month the first, second, third and fourth district in Paris will be completely car-free from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Back in October 2018, the Champs-Elysées shopping street car-free first Sunday of the month expanded considerably.
The new measure does, however, have a few exceptions. For example, public transport, taxis and supplier deliveries are still allowed to drive through to certain points.
More livable
Car-free Sunday is now part of a broader plan by Mayor Anne Hidalgo (PS) to purify the air in the city, to make Paris more livable for pedestrians and to make the city centre car-free. “Our residents have long been looking forward to these car-free days. The measure is the result of a collaboration between the police, the district mayors and the neighbourhood associations”, says Hidalgo in her so-called ‘Paris Respire’ plan.
Subsidies
Paris had already decided to ban all diesel cars from the city by 2024. Parisians who dispose of their cars can also receive up to 600 euro in subsidies for the purchase of a bicycle or for the purchase of a subscription to shared cars.
Small businesses can count on more than 8.000 euro to invest in an electric van. Paris is also studying the possibilities of making public transport completely free.
Less noise and better air quality
Despite all these measures taken, air quality in the French capital remains one of the worst in the world.
Studies of the car-free Sundays show that urban noise would be reduced by 3 decibels and that it should have an immediate effect on air quality (according to Airparif, the levels of NO2 on car-free Sundays were reduced by 28 to 35%).
TAXI LEAKS EXTRA BIT :
Well again.... you couldn't make it up!
After years of campaigning and lobbying for a right turn from Charing Cross Road Northbound into Shaftesbury Avenue and to everyone's surprise, a right turn has now been implemented.
It's believed that the council have done this to elleviated congestion caused by the mess they've made of Tottenham Court Road, which is now gridlocked for most of the day.