Skip to main content

Paris to ‘get rid of 70,000 parking spaces’

Squeeze on cars continues in '15-minute city' under Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo
By Adam Hill October 21, 2020 Read time: 2 mins
Parisiens! Enjoy all these while you still can (© Uatp1 | Dreamstime.com)

Paris is to remove around half of its 140,000 car parking spaces under a scheme by Socialist party mayor Anne Hidalgo to make the city more pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly.

The figure of 70,000 was announced by David Belliard, deputy mayor with responsibility for transport, mobility and transforming public space.

Residents of the French capital will be consulted on how they want to see the new space used.

Belliard tweeted that it was a priority to "protect the most vulnerable in public space, and in particular pedestrians".

Hidalgo was re-elected for a second term earlier this year, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the plan is to repurpose the parking places for other uses by the time of the next election.

Supported by Greens such as Belliard, Hidalgo made transport and pollution central to her campaign through the “15-minute city” concept.

This envisages a city where inhabitants can meet all needs – food, work, recreation, culture and so on – within a 15-minute walk or bike ride from home.

Already, Paris has seen more road space given over to bicycles and pedestrians.

During the election, Hidalgo said: “It’s out of the question to think that arriving in the heart of the city by car is any sort of solution.”

In her election night victory speech she told supporters: “You have chosen a Paris that can breathe.”

 

 

Related Content

  • June 28, 2021
    How MaaS delivers public sector value
    MaaS can be much more than a vehicle to help cities and governments to better align with societal, environmental and economic policies and goals, explains Scott Shepard of Iomob
  • November 1, 2022
    Better liveability through more micromobility
    Shared and micromobility offer new options, weaning urbanites off their cars, stitching existing mass transit combinations together. Andrew Stone looks at a report on transforming our cities
  • April 19, 2023
    15-minute cities versus tinfoil hat wearers: only one winner in this fight
    Tinfoil hat wearers – conspiracy theorists who delight in joining non-existent dots – are doing their best to make the 15-minute city concept toxic. It’s wonderful that they’re doomed to fail
  • March 17, 2014
    Police to enforce car ban as Paris battles smog
    Thousands of cars will be banned from Parisian roads today as the city tries to curb dangerous pollution levels by introducing alternate driving days for the first time in nearly two decades. The radical move will see around 700 police officers deployed to man 60 checkpoints around the French capital to ensure that only cars with number plates ending in odd numbers are on the streets. Parking will be free for vehicles with even number plates, the Paris city hall said, calling on residents to consult