Paris Accelerates Mobility Shift: On its Way to a Car-Free City Center

The French metropolis Paris is further advancing the traffic transition and aims to create a traffic-calmed zone with restricted car access in the city center by 2024. Through traffic is to be completely banned. More space for bicycle and pedestrian traffic is to be created, announced Mayor Anne Hidalgo of the Parti Socialiste (PS), who was re-elected in 2020 for her consistent stance on mobility transition. A traffic code is being developed to foster more respect between drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. The focus is on protecting the most vulnerable road users, namely pedestrians. Additionally, the residents of the metropolis can vote this Sunday on whether to continue accepting e-scooter sharing in the city or to abolish it.

Hidalgo has been decisively pushing the traffic transition in Paris for years. As a result, pedestrian zones that are closed to cars have been created along the Seine, the number of bike paths is continuously increasing, and new green spaces are emerging. Moreover, a speed limit of 30 km/h is generally applied almost everywhere in the city.