Paris' mayor Anne Hidalgo has been turning the French capital inside out since 2014. In a city dominated by cars for decades, it is making room for cycle paths, parks and promenades. The first woman to hold the office of mayor does not argue with climate protection and CO2 balances, but instead makes the safety of Parisians an issue. And at the same time, Hidalgo is ensuring short distances by converting Paris into a 15-minute city, as this article from “Everything’s great?” shows.
Paris is known around the world as the “city of love” – but perhaps we should say: car love. For a long time, the French capital was almost bicycle-free and the towers of Notre Dame and Sacré-Cœur were shrouded in the haze of exhaust fumes. There was no trace of romance, at least for everyone who wasn't behind the wheel. In the mid-nineties, there were just three kilometers of cycle paths in Paris, the so-called “paths of politeness”. At that time, four-lane streets with narrow sidewalks cut through the city in a much less considerate, almost rude manner. And on the banks of the Seine, cars raced along the expressway almost without braking – until Anne Hidalgo moved into the town hall.
Paris, the city of short distances
In 2014, the socialist, who would probably be a social democrat in Germany, became mayor of the French metropolis. Since then, she has been pursuing her ambitious plan – and transforming Paris into a healthy and safe city. In a world in which banning the car is one of the most politically risky ideas, Hidalgo shows courage and perseverance. A year after she took office, only one in seven rated her positively.
Give up? Not an option. She continued working on her promise to make Paris a 15-minute city. All places of daily life should be reachable on foot or by bike in a maximum of 15 minutes – regardless of whether it is a kindergarten, school or office, supermarket, organic store or pharmacy, café or sports field. This city model is intended, among other things, to reduce car traffic, reduce noise levels and increase air quality. And on top of that, the shorter distances mean residents have more time for neighborly encounters. It is important that public spaces are redesigned so that they invite people to linger and socially interact (1).
To make her dream of a compact Paris come true, she increased the cycling infrastructure fivefold to over 1,000 kilometers and invested 150 million euros in doubling the cycle paths. It closed entire streets to car traffic to make room for pedestrian zones and boulevards, such as the 3.3-kilometer-long bank of the Seine. A highway that used to be used by 43,000 vehicles a day is now a popular promenade with up to two million visitors per year. By 2020, the share of cycling in daily trips increased to 47 percent, and by 2021 a further 22 percent had been added (2).
Hidalgo was insulted as the arrogant “boss of Paris” for her program, attracted hatred and incitement – and still won re-election in 2020. Advised by the best-known French climate scientist Jean Jouzel, she campaigned to make Paris climate neutral by 2050. She is convinced that rising temperatures could make the city uninhabitable.
And yet she doesn't talk about climate protection and CO2 balances. Instead, she argues with the sensitive lungs of schoolchildren, with asthma sufferers on highways and with the fact that SUVs could overlook small first-graders because of their size. The city should become more attractive for pedestrians and cyclists not only because of the climate, but above all for safety reasons.
Hidalgo wants to use her second term in office to invest another 250 million euros in bicycle policy, including 180 million in infrastructure. By 2026, 180 kilometers of cycle paths are to be added and all streets in the Paris city area are to be made bicycle-friendly. To this end, she is planning two-way cycle paths and intersections based on the Dutch model. Buses and trams should have priority at traffic lights, and bicycles should be given green waves. There will also be 130,000 new bicycle parking spaces (3).
Since 2021, the speed limit for car traffic has been 30 on almost all roads, and the next step is to reduce the maximum speed on the ring highway from 70 to 50 km/h. Hidalgo wants to reduce the risk of accidents. In 2014, when the speed limit was adjusted from 80 to 70 km/h, the number of accidents fell by 15 percent (4). Diesel vehicles will be banned from 2024 and combustion engines from 2030. By 2026, 70,000 above-ground parking spaces will be eliminated, which corresponds to 72 percent of all street parking spaces. And SUVs from outside will pay 18 euros per hour to park in the center from autumn 2024 – three times as much as before.
After the 2024 Summer Olympics, traffic-calmed zones are to be introduced in the historic core (I, II, III and IV arrondissement) and north of Boulevard Saint-Germain. By 2030, over 38 billion euros are to be invested in local public transport in order to create 200 kilometers of new subway routes. The “Paris breathes a sigh of relief” project is to be continued and streets will continue to be temporarily closed to motorized traffic.
Strengthening the green-blue infrastructure is also important to Hidalgo: around 170,000 trees are to be planted by 2026 and the Champs-Elysee including Place de la Concorde are to become a green boulevard by 2030. And after over 100 years, the Seine should finally be clean enough for swimming again from 2025.
Even though Hidalgo is primarily thinking about the safety and health of Parisians in her plans for the 15-minute city, by curbing car traffic the city will automatically improve its carbon footprint. As a result, Paris was awarded the 2021 United Nations Climate Action Award for its exceptional climate leadership.
Rue aux écoles: school streets reinterpreted
At the beginning of her second term, Hidalgo initiated the Rue aux écoles project to increase safety on the way to school. Since then, traffic-calmed areas have been created around primary schools and kindergartens throughout Paris – by the end of 2023 there will already be over 200. The school streets will be closed to car traffic with physical elements, but rescue and delivery vehicles will still have access. Fountains and benches increase the quality of stay, trees and greenery provide shade and cooling. The children from neighboring schools are involved in participatory workshops and carry out measurements and interviews with residents themselves in order to assess future usage ideas (5).
Rue aux enfants: Safe play streets for children
Similar to the Rues aux écoles, the Rue aux enfants concept also aims to offer children a safe environment. Proclaimed in 2015 by the Rues aux enfants, rues pour tous collective, cities across France implemented temporary traffic calming and road closures. In Paris, too, some streets become pedestrian zones every spring and autumn. Children of all ages should be able to safely enjoy the street space and explore their surroundings. Rues aux enfants are created primarily in lower-income neighborhoods in order to offer children from poorer backgrounds safe opportunities to play.
Sources
1 https://www.c40knowledgehub.org/s/article/Why-every-city-can-benefit-from-a-15-minute-city-vision?language=en_US
2 https://taz.de/Anne-Hidalgo-und-die-Fahrradstadt-Paris/!5826592/
3 https://www.umverkehr.ch/node/1080
4 https://www.nzz.ch/international/die-pariser-ringautobahn-ist-womoeglich-bald-nur-noch-fuer-sonntagsfahrer-ld.1767449
5 https://www.klimabuendnis-karlsruhe.de/2023/11/04/rue-aux-ecoles-in-paris-sicherheit-und-umweltschutz/?doing_wp_cron=1710421205.6596889495849609375000
