Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo says the city will develop a plan to close 500 streets to car traffic and add new bike and pedestrian infrastructure after a referendum on the proposal passed with 66 percent of the vote.
Paris is continuing its transformation into a bike-centric city, with the city planning to close 500 streets to car traffic under a referendum supported by roughly two-thirds of voters.
“The plan involves interventions in each of Paris’s 20 arrondissements, with 6 to 8 streets closed per district and an estimated 10,000 parking spots to be removed,” writes Romina Totaro in Domus. The city will replace these areas with green space, bike lanes, and pedestrian infrastructure.
According to the article, the city lags behind other major European cities in tree canopy and green space. Since Mayor Anne Hidalgo took office, the city has aggressively promoted multimodal infrastructure and bike lanes, pledging to become a ‘100 percent cyclable city.’ Thanks in part to the rise in cycling as a mode share, between 2005 and 2024, the city’s air pollution levels (nitrogen dioxide and fine particulate matter) dropped by 50 percent and 55 percent.
Read the full story: Paris is becoming a car-free city, with 500 streets closed to traffic
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