2023-12-18 20:25:15
Announced for the first time in May 2021, this project designed for the city center of the capital aims to reduce road traffic on the main roads concerned by 7 to 30%.
The limited traffic zone will see the light of day: this is the commitment of the Parisian municipality, which confirmed this Monday that this project to reduce road traffic in the very center of the capital will see the light of day.in fall 2024“. Originally planned to be launched “from the second half of 2022“, this measure – which aims to eliminate transit traffic in the area in order to promote public transport, soft mobility and reduce pollution and noise – has been postponed several times. It will eventually be implemented.at the end of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games”, and its scope has been reduced. While the results of the impact study – obligatory for this type of project – were sent today to the environmental authority, the municipality clarified the contours of this highly criticized project. Le Figaro make the point.
What is the project ?
Concretely, it involves creating an area in which traffic says “of transit“, that is to say vehicles of any kind only crossing the area without stopping there, will simply be “forbidden“. And this, in a perimeter whose exact route is still the subject of negotiations with the Paris police headquarters, but which currently corresponds to the Paris Center sector (with the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th arrondissements). The area should extend from the Grands Boulevards in the north to the banks of the Seine on the left bank in the south, including the two Îles de la Cité and Saint-Louis, and from Place de la Concorde in the west to the Place de la Bastille to the east. The two places are not included in the perimeter. However, the area will remain accessible to destination traffic, that is to say for car users who stop there, like residents, traders, delivery people and other visitors.
The latest version of the ZTL excludes the left bank, contrary to what was initially planned. City of Paris
Towards a reduction in pollution?
This measure, which according to the municipality aims to “massively reduce the flow of motorized vehicles in the city center“, has “substantially reduce traffic levels on certain major routes» and therefore, ultimately, to “reduce air pollution and noise“. On this subject, initial estimates show a drop in traffic volume of between 7%, rue de Réaumur, and up to 30%, avenue de l’Opéra, for example. As well as a drop in the concentration of pollutants of between 7% on the Quai de l’Hôtel de Ville, and up to 15% on Boulevard Henri IV or Avenue de l’Opéra. “Due to the implementation of the ZTL, an overall reduction in the exposure of the Parisian population to air pollution and a reduction in the number of people exposed to high noise levels is expected.“, the City believes.
At City Hall, we especially praise a system that “will reorganize the sharing of public space for the benefit of public transport, cycling and walking“. The opportunity also to “facilitate the movement of users who go to and circulate in the area“, like residents, visitors, people with reduced mobility (PRM), craftsmen, traders, taxis and other public service stakeholders, and thus “improve the living environment and promote Parisian historical heritage».
Read alsoIn Paris, reduced traffic in the city center is controversial
Many reviews
The Paris municipality is trying to minimize the numerous criticisms this measure has received since its announcement. Faced with traders worried about the risk of a drop in footfall in this area, the latter responded that the area has never been so attractive with a very low vacancy rate for shops and a sharp increase in footfall with no less than 15 million passages on the rue de Rivoli sector. “Excluding the Champs-Élysées, it is the busiest street in Paris and is increasing, while all the others are decreasing.specifies the municipality, which is pleased that this axis is “a street experiencing significant growth in terms of traffic“. And this, despite the City’s decision to reduce traffic to public transport and taxis.
On the other hand, the municipality does not mention the risk of a delay in traffic in adjacent streets, and on major roads not included in the limited traffic zone. Fears expressed by certain mayors of the left bank districts, notably Florence Berthout (mayor of the 5th) and Jean-Pierre Lecoq (mayor of the 6th). They were also moved by the municipality’s wish to close to transit traffic the high quays on the left bank, between the Institute of the Arab World and the National Assembly, as well as the fate reserved for Boulevard Saint-Germain which , to compensate, had to be reorganized into two-way traffic. A decision which offended these opposition mayors. Already in July 2021, the mayor of the 7th Rachida Dati and that of the 6th Jean-Pierre Lecoq had expressed their “complete opposition to the project», even demanding its abandonment.
«Without an impact study, a traffic plan, compensation or a financial projection, the ZTL and traffic modification projects on Boulevard Saint-Germain are not credible.», They wrote in a letter sent to Anne Hidalgo. “Following our repeated requests with Rachida Dati to exclude the left bank from the perimeter of the ZTL, it seems that the selected area only includes Paris Center», welcomes Jean-Pierre Lecoq this Monday, for whom “this decision is going in the right direction».
A public inquiry in the spring
What about next? If it only has an advisory opinion, and not a binding one, the environmental authority must now express itself on the subject. Then, in spring 2024, the time will come for the launch of the public inquiry allowing Ile-de-France residents to give their opinion on the project. In the fall of 2024, the launch of the limited traffic zone will still have to be validated by a decree co-signed by the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo and the police prefect Laurent Nuñez. But many points still remain unanswered. To see if the municipality succeeds in reintegrating Saint-Germain Boulevard as planned in the initial version or not. A choice which could well influence the prefect’s decision.
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