Paris: 10 projects that will delight pedestrians and cyclists, but not motorists

The end of the reign of the automobile in Paris, it is for soon. Despite criticism, Anne Hidalgo continues to transform the capital. The ten sites unveiled in Le Parisien leave no doubt about the mayor's determination to make Paris a paradise for pedestrians and cyclists, and a nightmare for the irreducible driving. All of these projects are in the operational launch phase, says the daily. "And it will go intensifying in the second half of 2018 and 2019," says Christophe Najdovski, Anne Hidalgo's badistant in charge of Transport. That is well before the municipal elections of 2020. Among these ten projects include the refurbishment of seven emblematic Parisian squares, including that of the Nation and the Bastille, suggesting heavy traffic difficulties.

In the East

Regarding the Place de la Nation (12th), the second largest square in Paris after the Concorde, the real work will begin in July: after reducing the road from eight to four voices, we must now cover the large square central lawn "English" and surround it with a low wall integrating plantations and seated. "We want to make the Nation a green space crossed by a road," says the mayor of Paris.

Following the redevelopment of the Place de la Bastille (11th) from September 2018, the most ambitious wanted by Anne Hidalgo and its teams. The City Hall plans to build a large pedestrian space that will occupy the space between the July Column and the cbad. The area will even bear the name of "the peninsula". From the beginning of the year 2020, specifies Le Parisien the circulation of cars there will be reduced by 40%. A new meaning will be put in place as early as August 2019.

Some work has already begun in the east of the capital. This is the case on boulevard Voltaire (11th): a bike path of three kilometers will connect in one go the places of the Republic and the Nation. Motorists will only be able to drive on one file in each direction. Two lines will be preserved, however, near Léon Blum Square and the Republic. The works must be completed in April 2019.

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In the West

Another great project is the development of the most beautiful avenue in the world. Since the beginning of June, reports Le
Parisien preparatory works are taking place on the Champs-Elysées (8th). Work that will be followed by a real building site next October, to develop, on both sides of the avenue, a bike path of two kilometers from Place de la Concorde. The work should be completed in December 2019.

The bike will be decidedly well established west of the capital since, since the summer of 2019, a bike path will allow to go along the whole of the rue Lecourbe (15th), from south to north, against the traffic. Some 2.4 km that will allow Parisians to join the street of Sèvres and then the center of the city. Beginning of the works in the autumn of 2018, with little impact on traffic

In the South

Further south, the Paris City Council wishes to make possible the crossing of all the quays of the Seine, Issy-les-Moulineaux to Ivry-sur-Seine. A bike path will be built, two-way. A first section has already been completed between the quai d'Ivry (13th) and the bridge of Bercy (12th). Another construction site is underway at the Austerlitz wharf (13th), causing major traffic disruptions with deviations in place until the end of the summer. Two other projects will then be launched on the docks of Tournelle and Montebello (5th).

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In the North

Another vast redevelopment project: the creation of an urban promenade by the summer of 2019 between the Barbès and Stalingrad metro stations, under the skytrain, near the Place de La Chapelle (18e). The goal of the town hall is to rehabilitate an area usually occupied by many wild facilities between refugee camps and illegal markets. Thus, public lighting must be reviewed, as well as the development of the squares of Jessaint and Louise de Marillac

Sidewalks and the median must also be widened. In terms of traffic, the boulevard de La Chapelle will only include one lane. A second urban walk will be built at the level of the central boulevard of Avenue de Flandre (19th). The work will begin next fall and will end in April 2019 to also allow the development of bike paths on each side of the platform. Here again, the traffic of vehicles will be reduced in a single line.

In the center

The historic center will not escape the transformations desired by Anne Hidalgo. Thus, the place of the Pantheon (5th) will be the first real manifestation of the municipal will. Work began on July 9 and will end at the beginning of September. If cars will still be able to drive there, their maximum speed will be 20 km / h. And pedestrians will remain priority, including the development of 250 benches and 5 large wooden tables that will be erected instead of parking areas. A widening of sidewalks is also planned.

Finally, from the start of 2019, it will be possible for cyclists to reach the Place de la Concorde from Place de la Bastille thanks to the construction of a 3.7 km two-way cycle lane, rue de Rivoli (1er). Work has already progressed well since the section between St. Paul and Lobau Street has already been completed. A second section is to be built this summer between boulevard Sébastopol and Place de la Concorde.

In total, all of these projects must allow pedestrians to gain "50% more space", and cyclists from benefit from "more than 1,000 kilometers of cycling facilities". And the prospect of seeing the critics rise to the problems of future traffic because of these sites does not seem to scare the mayor. "We must place these projects in a positive overall perspective, beyond the constraints they will lead," insists Christophe Najdovski. "Paris in the 21st century will not be like twentieth-century Paris, shaped by the automobile. "