2023-05-05 22:00:42
© Reuters. Cyclist passes the Eiffel Tower in Paris 01/19/2023 REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
Por Geert De Clercq
PARIS (Reuters) – The French government plans to invest 2 billion euros by 2027 to improve bicycle infrastructure and help people buy bikes in an effort to reduce car use and increase cycling, government ministers said. this Friday.
The aim will be to double the bike lane network, and the government will invest 250 million euros a year in new bike lanes from 2023 to 2027. The rest of the budget will go towards other measures to encourage cycling.
“The state’s cycling effort is unprecedented and huge,” Transport Minister Clement Beaune said in a tweet.
The government wants to make the bicycle an attractive alternative to cars and an accessible means of transport for everyone, from an early age, and throughout life, Beaune told Le Parisien newspaper.
The aim will be to increase the country’s cycle network from 50,000 km today to 80,000 km in 2027, and 100,000 km by 2030, with priority given to provincial towns and rural areas, as large cities have already received considerable public funding for cycling infrastructure, Beaune said.
Around 500 million euros will go towards subsidies to buy bicycles, including second-hand bicycles.
The government will also increase investment in bicycle rack facilities at railway stations and in cities, increase funding to combat bicycle theft and provide bicycle training for all primary schools.
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