Less and Less of Paris Open to Cars

In an effort to restrict air pollution, more of Paris' streets will be closed to cars. The city's mayor, Anne Hildalgo called the downtown road plan 'archaic' in its focus on cars. Hildalgo has already closed some of the streets of the city center to autos. According to reporting from Caroline Mortimer in The Independent, "Under the plans a 1km stretch of road along the river from Place de la Concorde and the Point Royal will be closed and traffic will also be restricted on two main roads running east to west – the upper highway on the right bank and the Rue de Rivoli."

Efforts to curb cars were originally spurred by a surge in pollution that experts called the worst the city had experienced in a decade. As an alternative to continuing to build for the car, "Ms. Hidalgo also has plans for an electric tram service running from City Hall to Saint Cloud Park as part of the city’s bid to host the Olympics in 2024," Mortimer writes.