class = “sc-cffd1e67-0 iQNQmc”>
Paris, the city of love. And chronic traffic crashes. The city government, led by incumbent mayor Anne Hidalgo, 64, has taken a series of drastic measures in recent years to return the French capital’s perpetually overcrowded streets to residents. First, Hidalgo closed a large area of the riverside road along the Seine to cars and opened it to pedestrians and cyclists. Thousands of parking spaces have been removed and replaced with green spaces filled with flowers, trees and bamboo bushes.
During the pandemic, the socialist government converted some streets into pop-up bike lanes; Many of them, such as the Rue de Rivoli central traffic artery, have since been closed to private motor traffic. Only one of the four lanes can still be used by buses, taxis, delivery services or emergency vehicles. 400 kilometers of new bicycle paths have been created in recent years; Another 60 kilometers of new bicycle paths will be opened this year alone. Since August 2021, most streets of the French metropolis have a speed limit of 30 km/h (also interesting: Europe’s cities ban cars).
Triple parking fee
Anne Hidalgo and her colleagues are now targeting SUVs, which they find particularly offensive. On Sunday, Parisians will be able to vote on whether they will accept the government’s proposed radical increase in parking fees for off-road users in the city. Parking fees for certain vehicles will then triple. In centrally located zones, zones 1 to 11, the watch will cost 18 euros instead of the current 6 euros. In more remote areas from 12 to 20, the parking fee increases from 4 euros to 12 euros per hour.
Taxis, drivers with a disabled driver’s license, tradesmen and citizens with parking permits are excluded from this large increase. However, this is only valid in designated sectors. Those most affected by the measure will therefore be drivers commuting from outside central Paris in their large SUVs, including tourists. The goal is clear: To enable people to switch to more ecological, cheaper and faster public transportation.
Weight matters
The determining factor in determining which SUVs will be affected by the drastic increase in parking fees is not only the shape of the vehicle, but also its weight. The standard limit for cars with petrol, diesel and hybrid drive is 1.6 tonnes; For electric cars, the limit is two tons. The measure does not only target particularly dirty vehicles with high levels of CO2It affects not only emissions, but also cars that take up much more space than smaller, lighter city cars.
Hidalgo’s anti-car course isn’t just well-received, of course. Pierre Chasseray, president of the association “40 million d’automobilistes”, the largest advocacy group for drivers in France, told the magazine “Spiegel” that he was upset about what he considered a “stupid” question in the upcoming vote: “Would you like to see more or fewer cars on the roads?” Do you know some idiot who, if you ask them what they prefer, will say, “I think more cars are really great?”
After all, a huge increase in parking fees will penalize families with young children, especially those who are dependent on a large car. “Do we want to punish them all now?” Chasseray asked rhetorically. he asks. He probably won’t like Sunday’s answer: More than 60 percent of Parisians will vote against higher parking fees and large SUVs, according to recent polls.
Source: Blick
I’m Ella Sammie, author specializing in the Technology sector. I have been writing for 24 Instatnt News since 2020, and am passionate about staying up to date with the latest developments in this ever-changing industry.
