The mayor of Paris has fired another salvo in the war against motorists and choking pollution with a plan to turn the right bank of the River Seine into a pedestrian zone.
A busy highway flanking the river bank of the French capital would be replaced by waterside gardens, children’s play areas and grassy walkways. At its most ambitious, the €8m project launched by the Socialist mayor, Anne Hidalgo, would allow pedestrians to stroll along a vehicle-free stretch from Place de la Bastille, also due to undergo a facelift under other plans, to the Eiffel Tower.
Public consultation will begin in June to decide how much of the river bank road network should be closed to traffic.
Hidalgo’s predecessor, Bertrand Delanoë, pedestrianised part of the left bank of the Seine between the Pont Royal and the Pont de l’Alma in the summer of 2013, a move deemed a success by city officials, but which has infuriated drivers.
The latest scheme to pedestrianise a highway along which 2,700 vehicles pass each hour at peak times, has been opposed by the group 40 Million Motorists, which has launched an online petition.
Hidalgo has said that in the campaign to drive cars from the French capital’s streets a certain philosophy is required. “It’s an urban project, something almost philosophical, which involves envisaging the city in an alternative way than through the use of cars,” Hidalgo said, adding that “reconquering the banks of the Seine” would be one of the highlights of her administration.
She said the plan involved handing over the right bank of the Seine to pedestrians after the annual Paris Plage festival. , during which the riverbank is turned into an urban “beach” with sand and palm trees, in 2016.
City Hall experts say the plan to reclaim the riverbanks from traffic would lead to an average drop of 15% in nitrogen dioxide levels as well as a reduction in noise pollution.
However, Pierre Chasseray of 40 Millions Motorists said the left bank closure had shown that pedestrianising the riverside highways aggravated traffic problems. “The additional traffic jams mean higher pollution and noise for local people. Also, the consequences on the local and regional economy are dramatic. In fact, the effects are the exact opposite of what one might hope. How can Anne Hidalgo imagine for a single second that extending the measure to the right bank will improve the situation?”, he said.
The most ambitious plan involves closing the Georges Pompidou highway from the Tuileries tunnel to the Henri IV tunnel – a stretch of nearly three miles – freeing up 4.5 hectares for pedestrians. The second plan would involve closing a shorter section – about a mile – of highway between Châtelet and Pond de Sully, giving 2.6 hectares.
The plans allow for the highway to be exceptionally reopened to traffic in certain emergencies. Parisians have been invited to submit their ideas for the closures and the use of the new public space created.
Comments (…)
Sign in or create your Guardian account to join the discussion