The capital continues to change. The Paris town hall published this Thursday, October 31, a decree establishing a limited traffic zone (ZTL) in the first four arrondissements. Objective: to prohibit traffic from vehicles that simply cross them in order to reduce pollution. This measure will come into force on Monday, November 4, David Belliard, the environmentalist deputy in charge of transport at Paris town hall, told AFP.
This zone of approximately 5.5 km² will then be authorized only for emergency vehicles, buses, taxis, people with reduced mobility, motorists residing or working there, as well as “destination” traffic, namely those whose the point of departure and arrival is in the area (for a medical appointment, going shopping, to the cinema, etc.). Note that the Paris town hall has also agreed to maintain access to tourist buses within the perimeter, fearing the anger of professionals in the sector.
Postponed several times, the implementation of the ZTL is a campaign commitment from the socialist mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, to “liberate public space” occupied by cars and reduce pollution, as several have done. major European cities (Madrid, Milan, Rome, etc.) in their central districts.
Objective: a reduction in traffic
Since the project was announced in May 2021, its perimeter has been the subject of difficult negotiations with the police headquarters. The dialogue accelerated in July 2022 with the arrival of Laurent Nuñez at the head of the institution, replacing the intransigent Didier Lallement. Initially included, the districts of the left bank located between Boulevard Saint-Germain and the Seine were removed from the perimeter, as were the Îles de la Cité and Saint-Louis, as well as the high quays of the right bank. According to our colleagues at FigaroLaurent Nuñez says he is satisfied not to have seen the establishment of this zone – central and ultra-touristy – before the Olympic Games.
With this new initiative, Paris City Hall expects a “substantial” reduction in the volume of traffic on the busiest arteries, with – 30% on Avenue de l’Opéra and – 15% on Boulevard de Sébastopol, more to the east, according to the impact study it carried out. It also anticipates a reduction in noise and an improvement in air quality thanks to a reduction in nitrogen dioxide concentrations (- 15% on avenue de l’Opéra and boulevard Henri IV, – 10% on Sebastopol Boulevard).
Transport and logistics organizations from Ile-de-France, united under the Gatmarif banner, asked the town hall in mid-September for details on the conditions of access and the presentation of possible supporting documents. “The control methods as well as the list of supporting documents allowing the right to travel within the limited traffic zone to be established will be defined by a joint decree from the mayor of Paris and the prefect of police,” specifies the order published this Thursday. “There will be a first phase of education, before a second phase of control and verbalization” with a system of resident cards and online self-declaration, said the town hall. Deputy David Belliard assures that this tool “will improve the daily lives of the 110,000 people who live in the city center of Paris”.
In the ranks of the opposition, some like Aurélien Véron, spokesperson for the Changer Paris group (right), believe that the town hall is showing “amateurism” by publishing an “incomplete” decree, without the control methods. “This is going to be a mess without a name, on the contrary complicating the lives of residents with traffic jams on other roads. Since 2021, we have been in improvisation, traders and local residents are very worried,” he reacted from the AFP. For Maud Gatel (MoDem), the ZTL risks “endangering the commercial and cultural dynamism” of the sector. “The underlying message is ‘don’t come any more'”, believes the leader of the centrist party at the Paris Council, who criticizes a “proclamation decision, since in fact, it will be almost impossible to control entries and exits”.