Paris Plans to Become a '100 Percent Cyclable' City

Carlton Reid reports on Paris's $290 million plan to "make the French capital—not that long ago a city that was toxic for everyday cycling—into a '100% cyclable city.'" The city is achieving this in part by removing 70 percent of its car parking spots in favor of other modes. Plan Velo: Act 2, the city's cycling plan for 2021-2026, "will see the erection of 30,000 parking stands with an additional 1,000 spaces reserved for cargo bikes. There will also 40,000 new secure cycle parking spaces near rail stations with the expectation that, thanks to grants and other incentives, the private sector will install a further 50,000 spaces."

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who is now running for President of France, "was elected for a second term last year after successfully introducing many pro-bicycling measures." During her first term, the city "opened linear parks in the old highways along the Seine, phased out diesel cars in the city, opened bus lanes, raised parking meter prices, and plowed bike lanes down hundreds of streets" to make the city more accessible by bike and transit.