The Paris City Council published on Thursday, October 31, a decree establishing a limited traffic zone (ZTL) in the heart of Paris, prohibiting traffic to vehicles that only cross the first four districts of the capital. This measure will come into force on Monday, David Belliard, environmental deputy responsible for transport at the Paris city hall, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
This area of approximately 5.5 km2 will only be authorized for emergency vehicles, buses, taxis, people with reduced mobility, motorists who reside or work there, and all traffic. “destination”that is, those whose departure and arrival point is in the area (for a doctor’s appointment, to go shopping, to the movies, etc.)
The creation of the ZTL, postponed several times, is a campaign commitment of the socialist mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, to “liberate public space” occupied by cars and reduce pollution, as several large European cities (Madrid, Milan, Rome, etc.) have done in their central districts.
Since the project was announced in May 2021, its perimeter has been the subject of difficult negotiations with the police headquarters, which co-signed the decree published on Thursday. Initially included, the left bank neighborhoods located between the Boulevard Saint-Germain and the Seine were removed from the perimeter, as were the islands of la Cité and Saint-Louis and the high quays of the right bank.
“A first phase of pedagogy”
The transport and logistics organizations of Ile-de-France, grouped under the banner of the grouping of transport and handling activities of the Ile-de-France region (Gatmarif), asked the city council in mid-September for details on the conditions of their transport. access and presentation of possible supporting documents.
“The control methods, as well as the list of supporting documents allowing the right to circulate within the limited traffic zone to be established, will be defined by a joint decree of the mayor of Paris and the prefect of police”specifies the decree published on Thursday. “There will be a first phase of teaching, before a second phase of control and verbalization” with a resident card system and online self-declaration, the city council indicated.
The deputy for the Environment, David Belliard, affirms that this tool “it will improve the daily lives of the 110,000 people who live in the city center of Paris”.
In the opposition ranks, some like Maud Gatel (MoDem) fear that the ZTL “it endangers commercial and cultural dynamism” of the sector. “The underlying message is ‘don’t come again’”says the leader of the centrist party in the Paris Council, who criticizes a “Decision of “proclamation”, since in reality it will be almost impossible to control the entrances and exits”.
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The Paris city council expects a decrease “substantial” of traffic volume on the busiest arteries, with – 30% on Avenue de l’Opera and – 15% on Boulevard de Sébastopol, further east, according to the impact study carried out. It also foresees a reduction in noise and an improvement in air quality thanks to a reduction in nitrogen dioxide concentrations (- 15% on Avenue de la Opera and Boulevard Henri IV, – 10% on Boulevard Sebastopol).
