Paris Creates Limited Traffic Zone in City Center

Paris will begin limiting car traffic in the city’s central core, according to an article in Le Monde, per a decree issued by Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who has for years championed a more walkable, bikeable Paris, and co-signed by the city’s police department. “The decree applies to the first, second, third and fourth districts in the capital, an area of some 5.5 square kilometers that includes landmarks such as the Louvre Museum and Tuileries Gardens.”

Vehicle access will be restricted to “emergency vehicles, buses, taxis, people with reduced mobility, motorists living or working there and so-called ‘destination traffic’ including those in the area for a specific reason such as a medical appointment, shopping, or cinema visit.”

The limited traffic zone (ZTL) is expected to lead to as much as a 30 percent decrease in traffic on the busiest roads. “The system will be enforced via a system of proof of residence and online declarations, with an initial grace period as people get used to the new rules, the city hall said.”