Can Paris be a role model for our cities?

[@daveharrison84]

Think about how much more crowded those streets would be if every one of those bicycles was a car instead. If you're a car driver then you should be glad that all these people are riding bicycles and that the city is making it easy for them.

[@c0rnichon]

Every time I'm waiting at a pedestrian crossing with other people until four cars have passed I have to think about the absurdity that those four drivers make 12 pedestrians stop when all 16 people could have easily shared the space without obstructing one another.

[@riddele9904]

Well, that used to be the case. Still, doesn't seem to be very popular with the parisians

[@murdelabop]

Indeed. The car drivers who complain about traffic always forget that _they_are_ traffic.

[@АлександрСафронов-ю8ъ]

and how much? cyclist need 7 times less space than cars and pedestrian need 14 less space than cars, so any of these transportation ways would be less in size than cars

[@Elvebriel98]

@@riddele9904 feels like it mostly is with Parisians (from personal experience), but not that much with suburbanites

[@joshposey116]

When people are used to cars being privileged, equality feels like oppression.

[@stephenziga2319]

When you don't live in Paris, but you think cars are a bad thing for Paris. That's what you are.

[@slasherfun]

​@@stephenziga2319How would being car centric being a good thing for Paris (or any other city)?

[@scruf153]

@@stephenziga2319 what right do you have to clog up and pollute someones neighborhood you do not live in

[@selflesssamaritan6417]

Mass transit gives equal opportunity of mobility. They carry people, but not fragile egos and entitlement.

[@uncouver]

@@selflesssamaritan6417 Mass transit is a tool used to print money with property value rising.

[@jackwalker4874]

Googled Eric du Camont. Turns out that he is the French equivalent of Nick Freeman. A person whose income literally depends upon people having car crashes and needing representation. Fewer cars, fewer jobs for criminal defence lawyers who specialise in traffic law. He's not biased at all, I'm sure...

[@crapisnice]

He should be imprisoned by not denouncing the statistics of car killings and accidents to society and his role on it

[@slasherfun]

*Eric de Caumont

[@stickynorth]

I figured as much. His arguments were scattershot and bitter conservative tear-filled at best...

[@Misho83]

With this one I just needed 7.3 seconds to conclude he's a nasty human being.

[@jonathanodude6660]

@@slasherfun *Eric de Car-mont

[@donteatthechalk]

It's simple geometry for me. Cars are spatially inefficient for dense urban environments.

[@stickynorth]

Bingo! Does everyone in the world need that train vs bus vs bike vs car vs pedestrian space visualization graph? Apparently yes! That taxi driver should be happy with less cars on the road because that means more space for her!

[@CHEA1111]

@@donteatthechalk Just say that I don't have money to purchase a car

[@donteatthechalk]

@@CHEA1111 is that how you think? You impose your own ideological view on people you disagree with? You’re a child.

[@nicholasstocker8864]

I’m a car enthusiast. But I’m loving how European cities are making walking and public transportation much easier. Bravo Paris!

[@slasherfun]

Glad that you can be a car enthusiast without being a car addict! If only more people who like cars could be like you...

[@katjerouac]

To me, cars are for sport and leisure in suburbs and country. Cities are for people.

[@manu.yt25]

I love driving my car or renting one in holidays but in large cities it makes no sense, each time I go to Paris using my car would be hell and crazy expensive and I think this is the way to go, no one ever said that large cities should accommodate everyone's car even more for free. I don't like some of leftist Hidalgo policies but her work to make Paris more pedestrian and bike friendly is just brilliant, it literally placed Paris as a reference in western Europe for fast bike and pedestrian infrastructure development, within few in Europe...

[@stickynorth]

@@katjerouac 100% And I live in Edmonton which is like Canada's Houston.

[@navalfa7291]

Cycleways, road cones, planter pots, and Islam are the way forward for Parisians. Period.

[@Kexkrummel]

Car people that claim, pedestrians have never been that unsafe than now because of all the bicycles are funny to me. It is like a real time satire.

[@mike-A299]

Car people are also pedestrians too! Cars don't run red lights frequently or drive on the pavement. If they obeyed the traffic rules, then there wouldn't be an issue.

[@damianoandreaarrigoni4401]

@@mike-A299except they do do that, anyone who says the opposite is silly. And they have 1.5 tons of metal and plastic to crush you with as well.

[@mike-A299]

@@damianoandreaarrigoni4401 erm no! Cycling is for the poor and eight year olds. Either walk or use grown up transport in a city.

[@damianoandreaarrigoni4401]

@@mike-A299 sure, sure, say that to anyone in the Netherlands and get laughed out of the room

[@mike-A299]

@@damianoandreaarrigoni4401 say it anywhere else and they'll agree.

[@notjulesatall]

I live in the suburbs of Paris, the arguments opposed to Paris' policy are completely overblown. There are 13 RER lines and commuter train lines that extend more than 50km from the center of the city, allowing many workers to get inside Paris much quicker than by car. Some people are even able to commute by train, daily, from outside the Paris region. You don't need a car to work or shop in Paris, there are jobs and shops outside of Paris too, and Paris can't be blamed for the region's conservative government's lack of political will to offer car-free mobility outside of Paris. I've been living 50km away from Paris, I didn't have a bus to take me to the RER on Sundays, and that was the region's fault, not Paris'.

I'm sorry, but most of the RERs are already overcrowded, so imagine if you move people from the car to the RER ? I am not against removing cars from the city, but this has to be done in agreement with the suburb, not against. I think the restructuration of Paris should be done by Ile de France Mobilité which sees bigger pictures than the city of Paris

[@slasherfun]

Actually only few portions of RER lines have capacity issues, most of them run just fine even during rush hour. Why would the suburbs have to decide how people live in Paris? Should people living in Paris also have their word at how people in the suburbs are living as well? Île-de-France Mobilités is already doing a bad enough job at taking care of the transit system, I wouldn't trust them at urban planning, especially after the disinformation campaign they did in late 2020 against Paris' wish to create carpool and bus lanes on the périphérique, telling instead in that campaign that Paris wanted to remove lanes...

[@scruf153]

in America most drivers only drive around 5 miles a day why spend $50,000 U.S. to go that far

[@bazoo513]

In my six months of living and working in Paris (most of it living in 16e and working in Saint-Denis), I was in overcrowded metro, RER, Transilien, tram or bus exactly once, and that was when I went to see Paris Motor Show down near Porte de Versailles.

[@DjibrilD__]

Thats just wrong, people work with their cars lol. And RERs are overcrowded we would have to build more lines.

[@johnk2347]

Paris has changed so much over the decades for the better. It used to be a bleak city with no greenery, car exhaust and trash filling the air. It is far more greener and cleaner than I have ever seen. Not everything is perfect, but it has improved weather those who drive around by car like it or not.

[@techcafe0]

just a reminder: cities aren't loud, cars are loud

[@shrgn]

That is not true. I talk from experience

[@slasherfun]

@@shrgn Well experience shows that cars are loud, not cities.

[@SRDPS2]

@@shrgn engine is engine it's going to be out loud than crowds (except protests/riots of course) like just one honk or one acceleration and become a stand-alone sound you would hear

[@selflesssamaritan6417]

Yes. Despite they're quieter, the mass adoption of electric cars won't simply solve all the problem with automobile dominance.

[@techcafe0]

@@shrgn I also speak from experience, and it is true, cities are loud because of vehicular traffic. this is an undeniable fact.

[@dallysinghson5569]

How dare anyone propose a non-fossil-fuel-reliant mode of transport that doesn't clog up streets and pollute the air.

[@pmdaguet]

I’m a Parisian and I’m not a fanatic; and I don’t have a car because i don’t need one. Suburbans can drive their vehicles to the closest metro station then use public transports just like us. Delivery vehicles, taxis and emergency vehicles should be the only ones in our streets

[@RealSergiob466]

I agree

[@thomasgrabkowski8283]

Like Paris suburbs are well served by RER

[@sarahrose9944]

I love the idea of driving to the nearest metro/bus station to wean people off of cars. My city has several under-used FREE park&rides. They’re lacking secure bicycle storage and restrooms, but could be great 15minute centers. The fares aren’t free yet, but if the fares became free first and the parking was charged after a while I’d be quite pleased! Imagine people slowly withdrawing from car travel: first driving to the park&ride, then cycling to it, and if it became a mini city center maybe they would get what they need right there. Society would be so much happier and healthier.

[@jakob7116]

Will grand Paris express help people in the suburbs in getting into the city? Like will it have stations that are not connected to lines already going into Paris?

[@theguiltyboy269]

To achieve this well cheap parking fees as well as subsidies to public transit are needed, which is opposite to what is happening in Paris’s Metro unfortunately

[@todddammit4628]

So basically a bunch of people who don't live in a city want to dictate what people who do live in the city are allowed to do?

[@murdelabop]

Yup. It's a common theme among suburbanites around the world.

[@Rnankn]

Kind of reminds you of what its like when someone else’s emissions destroys your climate

[@beanapprentice1687]

Their argument is that the suburbanites work in the city, so they should at least have some say in what happens to the transportation system in that city. Which is a fair argument, but it doesn’t change the fact that those suburb dwellers can simply drive their cars to the nearest pubic transit hub and then take transit the rest of the way into the city.

[@techcafe0]

@@murdelabop and to add insult to injury, city dwellers end up subsidizing suburbia

[@murdelabop]

@techcafe0 Worse still, suburbanites always think it's the other way around, and have this illusion that the suburbs fund the cities, and you can't dissuade them with evidence.

[@TalwinderDhillonTravels]

Cities don't hate cars, cyclists don't hate cars. Geometry hates cars. As a mode of transportation, it is the most inefficient one spatially as it takes up too much space per person. No amount of street space can fix that

[@ronvandereerden4714]

And that's just the geometry. When you crunch the numbers of the potential energy in oil used to move (in most cases) a single human, the energy efficiency is around 0.5%. Even an EV is going to be under 2%. If anybody were to say, let's build our cities to depend on a transportation system that is that wasteful, in so many ways, we'd have never done it in the first place. The problem is that cars work quite well in small towns and people can't imagine giving them up as cities grow or when they move to a city from a rural area, as so many have.

[@c0rnichon]

Driving through central Paris is nuts. It's stressful and inconvenient. Why anybody would insist on keeping car traffic in central Paris is beyond me. Metro and buses take you everywhere and I refuse to believe that all these drivers are disabled or old people who have no other choice.

[@akfsx]

Public transport simply doesn't keep up with demand

[@Zedprice]

@@akfsx Then build more transit, rather than devoting money and space to vehicular infrastructure.

[@akfsx]

@@Zedprice but bullying cars is much easier than extending public transport, which became more crowded and less comfortable. Cycling in bad weather is for masochists.

[@dallysinghson5569]

@@akfsx Then let them use cars, who needs more cyclists?

[@akfsx]

@@dallysinghson5569 build public transport infrastructure first

[@KyleRuggles]

This is great! Montreal is doing something similar too! We don't need all these cars in the city!

[@miles5600]

exactly! people are always against change cause this would take away their ability to comfortably drive and park in the city. ignorant people.

[@poulhenne]

Everybody wants to be able to drive their car. And everybody hates trafficjams. Apparently people fail to connect these two dots, when sitting in a car.

[@Zelda-sr6ro]

Paris is way in advance though

[@miles5600]

@@Zelda-sr6ro depends, Paris has a lot of fast and cheap infrastructure for cyclists (don’t get me wrong, they also have some expensive infrastructure) while montreal has been installing protected infrastructure for a longer time that also got the time to develop, now montreal has Dutch traffic controlled intersections that’re very similar to the Dutch ones, Paris has yet to do this.

[@Zelda-sr6ro]

@@miles5600 It's true, but mainly concentrated in some neibourghoods, like the Plateau or only on some major streets. Also, Montréal is improving for bike infrastructures, but Paris has always been better for pedestrians.

[@c0rnichon]

5:10 No you don't. Drive your motorcycle to a suburbian transit hub and take the metro to the center.

[@murdelabop]

Hear hear!

[@thomasgrabkowski8283]

Like in Paris, you can park it at RER(suburban train) station and take it into the city

[@jeanlebon2979]

Around 70% of the commutes between paris and its suburb are made using public transit (approximately 20% by car)! The public transportation network between paris and its suburb is already pretty good, and DW is clearly lying on this point. The real problem is commuting between suburbs, which is currently difficult to do without a car (and the main goal of the new public transit project was to adress this issue).

[@beanapprentice1687]

Someone really needs to tell this to those complainers…

[@raphaelromero315]

The problem is that people will always use the travel option that is either cheaper, or faster, or more comfortable, or more reliable (depending on person's preferences and conditions). For many places in Paris's suburbs, motorcycles and scooters are faster than public transport (although probably not cheaper), which makes people mechanically use these more. You cannot just ask people to use transit based on their good will. Either the alternative (public transit/ cycling) needs to be made more convenient (that's the "carrot" strategy, e.g. new metros in the suburbs, more protected bike lanes etc) or the less preferable options (cars/motorcycles) have to be made less convenient (that's the "stick" strategy, e.g. taxes for driving big vehicles, fares for parking your motorcycles, making streets one-way etc...).

[@matttullo37]

As an American watching this, this is awesome, I hope they continue. When Americans started building suburbs and driving into cites it ruined our cities, they bulldozed buildings for parking lots and our streets got very wide, that is why you don't see many people walking in America. We are completely dependent on our cars.The average U.S. driver spends 97 hours in traffic a year, this is why I am moving to Europe, I don't want to spend my life in traffic.

[@scruf153]

and most drivers only commute around 5 miles a day

[@m.3257]

You should move to Paris.

[@myword1000]

​@@m.3257Matt has the right mindset, so would likely be welcomed in Paris, but I'm sure he would rather see some of the better ideas from Europe copied and adapted into American cities.

[@imanabdullah3263]

Why are people outside of Paris so entitled by how Paris govern themselves.. they blamed parisian when they do not have access to public transport while they are the one voting for wrong politicians

[@robinhood4640]

Parisians have been telling the rest of France how it should be governed for decades, why shouldn't the rest of France have the right to tell Paris how it should be?

[@slasherfun]

@@robinhood4640 Parisians have never told the rest of France how it should be goverened, Parisians can only vote for Paris mayor (and only since 1977, they couldn't even vote for one before that!), not for other cities' mayor.

Because the suburb is intimately connected to Paris, everything that is done in Paris will have a far-reaching impact that goes well outside of Paris. Paris is not an island in France. For example, some restructuration did not remove traffic jams but moved them elsewhere. That is why these kind of policies should be managed at the regional level. To take an example, it is like if the City of London decides to manage its road disregarding of the Greater London. For me, this highlights a problem in the way the city and the regions are governed.

[@slasherfun]

Well except car traffic and congestion did indeed decrease. That's logical, as the excess use of cars is the main cause of congestion: if you enable people to use a more efficient mode of transportation, you'll have less cars, therefore less congestion.

@slasherfun decrease IN Paris, but has increased outside

[@murdelabop]

Car drivers, who have for most of the past century been the recipients of ridiculous levels of subsidy to support their driving habit, see it as tyranny to lose even a fraction of that subsidy, and face the need to actually pay for the infrastructure and the space they use. I'm facing the same tension in my own city, and car drivers here don't like it one bit either.

[@m.3257]

You are joking, right? Fuel and vehicle taxes are a main income source for governments all over the world . In Germany gas and vehicle taxes generated over 47 billion € in 2022. On the other hand, trains are highly subsidized and couldn't survive without government support. Your comment as well as the documentary are highly biased.

[@murdelabop]

@m.3257 In the US, the amount of subsidy varies depending on the segment. The interstate highway system gets 50% of its funding from fuel taxes and road use fees. For secondary highways that drops to about 30%. For arterial roads it's about 20%. All the rest of their funding comes from subsidy. By the time you get down to residential streets the funding comes almost entirely from property taxes. If drivers had to pay the actual unsubsidized costs for their driving habit then they'd do it a lot less. Don't just look at the raw amount of the funding raised by fuel taxes and road use fees, look at the percentage of total funding they generate, and where the difference comes from. As for trains, yes they're subsidized. All forms of transit, without exception, are subsidized. Train tickets are also heavily taxed, though the total varies from country to country. Air travel is also very heavily subsidized, some say even more than trains.

[@ranterraver5959]

@@m.3257 OP is spot on in his original comment and his response. There are some many costs to support road infrastructure that are hidden from drivers and government don't even bat an eye spending billions on road infrastructure through general tax revenue that is paid partially by people who don't even own cars. How is this fair?? Every time you get on the train, you need to pay. The same is not true for roads. Drivers should need to pay road tolls and parking fees everywhere thier vehicles exist. The economic data does not back up offering free roads and parking spaces to car drivers to boost economic activity; it kills downtowns and makes us reliant on sprawling, money burning suburban development that needs to get further propped up by tax payers. Yes, there is some revenue generated by fuel taxes etc, but it doesn't come remotely close to covering the true costs of maintaining car dependent infrastructure. As soon as public transit has a bad month, governments talk about cutting service. On an under utilized road though, they just spend more tax dollars trying to keep that infrastructure intact, with no plan to pay for it except to continue to dip into general tax revenue. The facts do not care about your feelings.

[@officialgreendalehumanbeing]

NYC needs to take notes and copy this.

[@bwillwin1505]

No way! Don’t even dream about asking we Americans to ditch the Automobile. It is our 3rd amendment.. We are free unlike socialist Europe

[@officialgreendalehumanbeing]

@@bwillwin1505 freedom, my ass. car dependency is antithetical to freedom.

[@billyfink1234]

Well i mean in a car you decide when to go somewhere instead of public transportation controlling your use of time

[@chrisgmay16]

@@billyfink1234 Because designing everything so that your mobility is dependent on owning and maintaining a private vehicle is the opposite of freedom. Freedom is the option to choose which mode of transport you want to take - not defaulting to driving a car because the built environment requires you to.

[@damianoandreaarrigoni4401]

@@billyfink1234this is a lame argument. With high quality public transportation you don’t need to look at a schedule, the service might come every 10, 5 or even 2 minutes, meaning you arrive at the station and probably won’t have to wait much for a vehicle.

[@Kerleem]

I'm a car enthusiast originally from the US and I now live in Amsterdam. I love cars and driving but dense city centers are not ideal for cars. It's usually not even enjoyable to drive in these cities. I do like to drive to and park in Paris (I've made a video about this on my channel) but I am not against the idea of making more Parisian streets pedestrian only zones. Cars have become bigger and heavier (large SUVs, EVs, etc.) and I don't think these ancient city streets can handle this anymore.

[@fehmanahsrafi7143]

they should bring back the original fiat 500.

[@mistermood4164]

@@fehmanahsrafi7143 it wouldnt pass safety tests

[@Smart1529]

There are too many people buying SUVs and those people who buying it for status, they are a problem. Those who buy it for lots of luggage, people carrying including children and of course living in the countryside where there is no road then that's a valid excuse. But in England so many people including the rich people who live in London buying SUVs for status are being wasteful.

[@argh523]

Paris is building the biggest expansion of public transit for suburbs on the continent in decades. And all this one sided reportage talks about it is that it won't be finished in time for the olympics.. It's geometrically impossible to let everyone from the suburbs go to work in the city center with a car. Cars just need way too much space. If you want to go to work in the center of a major city by car, go and move one of those socially isolated and segregated suburbs in the united states and be "happy"

[@lws7394]

The biggest expansion in decades ? The Moscow metro was expanded with something close to 200km over the past decade. Including a new Moscow Central Circular Line of 54km. They are similar projects as GPE, but with less tantrum ..

[@manu.yt25]

@@lws7394 I think he meant in a non totalitarian regime, of course China also built a crazy number of metro and high speed train lines but totalitarian regimes have a cheat code for easy planning and decision making....

[@fabian7977]

​@lws7394 Yes is the biggest in decades and in Europe. Plus this new mega infrastructure project is going to add four new lines which are totalling 200km of tracks.

[@JulienBARÇON]

Yes ok !!! My problem the handicap , its same politic . No car , bycicle impossible transport the morning 4 am no transport ??? SOLUTION PLEASE

[@manu.yt25]

@@JulienBARÇON Extreme case here but maybe you can find more convenient hours? If the job is so inappropriate for your handicap maybe you should talk to the HR/managers to get something more adapted to you. I'm fairly sure solutions exist...

[@babadoom8972]

8:10 Sarah: Traffic in paris is getting worse. there are too many cars. 8:20 also Sarah: banning vehicles from the city is not a solution. 8:44 also Sarah: Bikes are the problem.

[@InsaneNuYawka]

Sarah is the problem

[@kai_v_k]

Sarah: They (the bikes) come by at warp speed. More probably 15-25km/h, while the speed-limit is 30km/h and I would not be surprised in the slightest if she wants to go back to a speed limit of 50km/h.

[@FantasticOtto]

@@kai_v_k Problem is that a lot of bicyclists don't know or care about riding responsibly. I've never been hit by a car, but plenty of bikes. Of course, that is preferrable to the former, but I'd rather have none, which is possible if people would just start acting responsibly.

[@kai_v_k]

@@FantasticOtto Several times (almost several times a day) I avoided being hit by cars and cyclists by braking and swerving, same with pedestrians. However I got hit twice by a car, once by a pedestrian and never by a bike. In general I would call the annecdotal evidence. If you look at fatalities cars vs. cyclist/pedestrians is several times higher than cyclist vs. cyclist/pedestrian or pedestrian vs. cyclist. You are right about people of any mode of transport being a menace and having seemingly never heard of responsibility.

[@FantasticOtto]

@@kai_v_k It's a question of parameters really. When asking what is worse, there could be a case made for both bicycles and cars. If we're talking number of incidents, I would venture a guess that far more bicycles hit people than cars, but in most cases a bicycle making contact with pedestrian results in a "hey, watch where you're going" and both move on. So the numbers are probably far greater than we realize. Getting struck by a car however means probable injury or worse, and a report to the authorities. So in that sense cars are the bigger threat. It's a matter of perspective. Personally, when moving about a large metropolis, my issue with cars is that they are loud, smelly and obtrusive. My issue with bicycles is that I don't feel safe around them, since many riders have no consideration for pedestrians and close to zero situational awareness. They approach large groups of people and don't even slow down. And since people can't hear them coming, there's bound to be a crash now and then.

[@kenchristensen8039]

A highly biased report. They give 80% of interview time to detractors of the city's plans. None of the detractors have any solutions to present in regards to massive traffic jams and deadly air quality which were rampant in Paris long before the bike and pedestrian infrastructure were introduced. The only advocate given screen time is the deputy mayor. Very disappointing reportage by DW.

[@murdelabop]

Conservatives never have solutions. They seem to think that either the situation is fine just as it is or there is no solution. At least no solution that directly benefits them.

[@DWREV]

Thanks for your feedback. I'm surprised to hear that you found the report biased against the changes happening in Paris. Did you watch the whole report? There are quite a few voices in favor of the changes: the mayor, the deputy mayor, the APUR representative, the city planner, the architect. Of course there are also voices taking the opposite position, but that's because our aim is to produce a balanced report that gives space to all sides of the debate.

[@JustinJamesJeep]

​@@DWREV I agree! This video came across as very targeted and anti-bike. It's not that pro active transportation weren't given screen time but that they were only given snippets while bad actors were given MUCH more screen time. Pretty disappointed in this coverage

[@edb3255]

Maybe the shots of people enjoying and moving about the city by foot and bike sufficiently represents the advocates of the city's plans? Maybe not all communication is verbal?

[@JuanAuribus]

​@@edb3255some people have a hard time with subtlety (hence the side of the ones yapping the most)

[@dontgetlost4078]

12:16 "People living in Paris voted for this decision. They didn't ask people from outside Paris to vote" "Anne Hidalgo is just the mayor of Paris, which is only 2 million inhabitants in an agglomeration of 11 or 12. So there's the first problem which is the governance of this agglomeration." Looks like the government is working as intended. If you wanted Anne to care about what the suburbs want, then those suburbs should be part of Paris proper. If not, then the mayor has no legal obligation to pander to them. They can't even vote her out! Plus Paris is building metros serving the suburbs too, so stop moaning.

[@anthonyjaffee877]

I take a train into Paris center and bike to my office 3 times a week. It is great. I save thousands of dollars on a car and gas. I save years of my life by avoiding the stress and lethargy of driving everywhere. There’s plenty of room in thousands of cities for those who want to lives their lives sitting in 6 lane traffic. Paris is leading the way in human progress, like it always has.

[@borisstefanov2983]

How are you bringing your kid to school!? How do you take your grandparents to hospital!? Do you go on a date or romantic dinner with your wife on a bike!?

[@sammymarrco47]

@@borisstefanov2983 kids can often take the city bus, walk or bike (if they're super young you can do with them). Cars are not illegal and there can be exceptions for older folks, two people can go to the same place on a bike, train, bus or by walking I dont see why you'd need a car for that.

[@TinLeadHammer]

​@@borisstefanov2983Kids ride public transportation themselves, like kids did 50-70 years ago.

[@bartwood7058]

​@@borisstefanov2983 Integrated public transport..

[@ianhomerpura8937]

@@borisstefanov2983 kids can commute on their own, mainly by bike, bus, or train. Ambulances are cheap in most places outside the US. Dating while riding a bike is actually very romantic, ESPECIALLY when you're in Paris.

[@MrFreeman626]

While the report is good, I have a strong impression that it is slightly biased towards car owners and their struggle in adapting to change. I am from Rome and personally I would give an arm and a leg for even half of the positive changes towards bike and pedestrian infrastructure in my city, which instead is made deadly, noisy and polluted by an absolute infestation of ugly car infrastructure and massive traffic jams, which makes turns the beautiful city centre into a stressful nightmare. We really need less cars on the street and that is achieved only by good alternatives to driving, so bravo Paris.

[@myword1000]

Very much so. Look out for content on channels such as Not Just Bikes, Oh the Urbanity! and CityNerd. Also, just search on 'urbanism'. Much better info, zero pandering to petrol heads.

[@VintageSoloHarmony]

I started driving in 1970, gave it up 2015. Last 8 years have been the best. Try it.

[@toastsandwich2862]

The car drivers are like the sibling that's had the playstation controller for 4 hours and then starts to cry about how important it is to 'share' when the younger sibling gets the controller for five minutes.

[@raphael5165]

*Bizarrement, y a que des vieux qui se plaignent.* 👀

[@WildAnanas]

Ouais et combien d'entre eux penses-tu etaient contre le port du masque y a qlq années de cela 🤔

[@manu.yt25]

Biberonnés à la voiture

[@stickynorth]

100%

[@hydrolien]

Dans 20, 30 ans on en parlera plus alors 😄

[@sylvain967]

The problem is the noise from Didier's motorbike. This guy is a psychopath to feel entitled to make such an awful noise and disturb thousands of people.

[@stickynorth]

Bingo! South Park has that episode on the subject that even my Baby Boomer mom shouts at them now if you know what I mean...

[@sylvain967]

@@stickynorth I see exactly which episode you mean 😅

[@Lolwutfordawin]

Especially considering how ridiculously expensive one of those harleys is, he could easily sell it and get a nice electric motorcycle instead. Save on gas, save on noise, save on parking. Win all around.

[@idontgetit_yk]

I wonder why Eric de Caumont and others talk about banning all cars. This is not the target. Did they know what they are suppossed to talk about? Why was this wrong fact not corrected. This leaves a wrong impression. There was also spoken about traffic jams once, was it any better in the past? I have not heard about that. So this is also misleading.

[@stickynorth]

That's their argument style... You talk about A, they rant about B... It's never fair or targeted. They are what people in the biz call "bad faith debaters"...

[@andr386]

Commuters that bring their car to a city are really destroying the city for its inhabitants. Paris must improve its access to the suburbs by public transport and create parkings there for people to leave their cars there. They must solve the commuting issue first and foremost. But yeah, commuters out.

[@bartwood7058]

It is coming. The 'problem' is that the old road and rail routes converge on Central Paris. Everybody trying to travel between outer areas must interchange centrally at Chatelet-Les Halles for Metro/regional rail, or the Périphérique inner ring road. Even the A86 outer ring road is not far enough away from the city centre. Hopefully the Grand Paris Express Métro routes will do much to connect the suburbs and bring relief to the centre. My opinion - Route Nationale N104 should be completed to become a true orbital Autoroute for Grande Paris, much like the M25 motorway which encircles London.

[@flopunkt3665]

​@@bartwood7058 in Berlin the S-Bahn Ring was a real game changer.

[@Siranoxz]

Building a cycling infrastructure in a car Centric city is always difficult. Some oppositions would create bogus excuses along the way, that's natural. But in the long term, even they will see how beneficial it is to have clean air, better cycling infra and public transportation systems in a city over cars. Cars can still drive around, but not as the main transport. You still need logistical purposed vehicles for deliveries and businesses. The 15 minute city conspiracies are by the way funny and ignorant, as we have those already in The Netherlands.

[@michielwouda]

With cities keeping on growing the ONLY solution is to focus on less cars, since there is no space for more cars, where would they make extra roads and parking spaces in historical centres? The same is happening in Amsterdam, loving it with less cars, more green, bigger bike roads ans more pedestrians.

[@akfsx]

And scaled down GVB and NS services. Leuk 🤣

[@Pensées_depuis_mon_balcon]

Bikes are not in the taxis' lane. Taxis are "allowed" to use the dedicated Bike and Bus lane. This taxi driver is living in a state of confusion. Taxi drivers have no respect for the privilege they are granted to use our Bike and Bus lanes. Send them back to the car lane if they don't appreciate their exemption.

[@gdemorest7942]

Change THEN adapt. The status quo is not an answer. Getting from the regions into Paris does suck, but more cars is definitely not the answer.

[@---jc7pi]

Yeah the bikes are killing people. Like so many. Like so scary. These bikes are so much more dangerous then the 3 ton vehicles. Of course lets ignore fact completely.

[@MidoriLeaf-sr5fy]

They even pollute the air with ... Air, it's so horrific 😱😱😱😱

[@lilneoFR]

Facts speaks plently and they accuse cars by soooo far 😆

[@philfluther2713]

'Bedfellow' cyclists are every pedestrians nightmare. And a motorist is required by law to keep a certain distance from a cyclist but a cyclist is not required by law to keep a certain distance from a pedestrian.

[@lilneoFR]

@@philfluther2713 in my country cyclist and pedestrian don't usually share lanes. And way they do they must adjust their pace to the pedestrian so they don't become a danger. So it's exactly the same. On the other end the risk is far greater when being in an accident with a car due to obvious reasons. Those are the facts

[@AS898-h3u]

Very proud of Paris making this change! it is necessary

[@72Jonkers]

In the Netherlands we had this proces of banning the cars in city center about 30 years ago. Car minded people where against plans but they didn't succeed. It turns out that the cities became more liveable and healthy. Now nobody wants to turn the clock back. I will say proceed Paris with your good plans!!

[@thastayapongsak4422]

Less car is better for everyone.

[@selflesssamaritan6417]

More space for the people and greenery!

[@gdwlaw5549]

Our daughter lives in Paris with her boyfriend. Sound engineer and teacher. They don’t have a car and life is great. Public transport is amazing. The guy on motorcycle can just ride to his local train, rer or metro station…

[@kucingsuci]

Yeah and the cherry on top all cars manufacturers get rid of their small cars and replace them with SUVs like wtf

[@mardiffv.8775]

Exactly.

[@erifetim]

Probably not so much a wtf with the car manufacturers, but more a wtf why do so many people want to switch to bigger cars

[@Altis_play]

I'm really surprised to appear in the subject but I completely support this transformation!

[@FlorianCorby]

Ton omniprésence dans les reportages sur la mobilité à vélo dans Paris est très ludique. Je cherche ton cameo à chaque fois que j'en regarde un.

[@Concorde_001]

Well, it's not just Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, major cities in France have also made this choice and many other cities are following this trend. Everyone faces the problem, people in city centers vs. people in the outskirts and suburbs. Although urban transport is excellent in France, many suburban residents have no choice but to drive their car to work.

[@friedzombie4]

Park and Ride, Chicago has it and so does every major French city.

[@techcafe0]

whatever we can do to make cities more walkable & liveable, with as few cars as possible, or even car-free, I'm all for it.

[@TinLeadHammer]

Thank you Paris for leading the way. Public transportation plus bikes and scooters is the future. But they should give priority to pedestrians and to public transport, not to elecric bikes that are as fast, as heavy and thus as dangerous as traditional cars and motorcycles. Pedestrians should feel safer and freer, not more endangered.

[@irinagroisman5208]

The Paris metro system is the worst in Europe for accessibility. The vast majority of its stations lack escalators or lifts, and unfortunately, the situation isn’t improving. Surprisingly, this issue doesn’t receive much attention.

[@akfsx]

young socialists don't care

[@slasherfun]

@@akfsx Like all public transportation in Paris région, the métro is under the Île-de-France région full responsibility, its elected officials being neither young nor socialists.

[@akfsx]

@@slasherfun Paris mayor is a member of socialistic party and your SUV referendum is a quite typical thing when a decent cabrio or 4x4 Subaru is counted like a SUV. Envy.

It is one of the oldest metro system in the world and the oldest if you take the average aged of all the lines. Why? Because most if the lines were built at the beginning of the 20th century, when these questions of accessibility were not an issue. Now, the city cannot do a lot about it.

[@slasherfun]

@@akfsx Paris mayor is a member of the socialist party, but Paris mayor is not in charge of Paris métro system: the Île-de-France president is in charge of it, and she's definitely not socialist at all. A decent cabrio is not a SUV, but a "4x4 Subaru" is an SUV... by definition!

[@wiezyczkowata]

I can bet that all those people who complain that there is too many bikes would swear up and down if they were to be stuck for hours in a massive car traffic that would happen with more cars then bicycles,

[@DanielLoveReel]

Cities are for people. If you need to get into a city, you can park your car outside and take transit in. Taxis, logistical vehicles, and emergency vehicles are the exception, of course.

[@АлександрСафронов-ю8ъ]

this german journalist is absolutely diletant , on what evidence he saying that made pedestrian and public transportation is technicaly problematic? its absolutely false , car infrastructure much more expensive and inneffective than public transport _ cycling and walking, maybe he need some education and reframe his car-depended mind

[@PJRye]

I love European cities (I'm Australian) because they were designed for people, before cars existed. All we have here is a return to what they were designed for, removing an element for which they were never intended.

[@jmlepunk]

Cars don't belong in cities

[@dznrboy]

Bikes and pedestrians don't create traffic, drivers and cars do.

[@lorenzofabi2814]

it is just a matter of space. people on a bike occupies less space than a person in his suv.

[@marcosfraguela]

The space, the obnoxious rumble, the farting of horrid fumes in our faces, and of course, the safety, the safety, the safety.

[@ThePilotGear]

@@marcosfraguela honestly, I feel mopeds are more of a nuisance in those regards. Moped emissions are so much worse than any 4-wheeled vehicle nowadays.

[@marcosfraguela]

​@@ThePilotGear Apparently, you're right-some mopeds are less efficient than cars.

[@ThePilotGear]

@@marcosfraguela It has more to do with exhaust treatment. Small gas engined-powered 2-wheel vehicles aren't held to the same standards as passenger cars, so no catalytic converter, no particulate filters, no combustion control or gas recirculation.

[@K1989L]

Actually the danger towards pedestrians have declined when driving has reduced and pedestrian areas have increased. Escooters and food delivery are a new thing and they don't have a separate network like cars and bikes (mostly) do. So of course the rate of small accidents probably has risen but the severity has fallen. I understand that the environtment FEELS more dangerous when you have to dodge scooters and bikes all the time and need to watch you surroundings. But the perceived safety is not the same as actual safety.

[@Sayitlikitiz101]

It is not the first time that DW throws shade at Germany's Western neighbors under the guise of fair reporting. I can't help but feel that if those policies at work in Paris were in place in Munich, Hamburg, or Berlin, DW would call them revolutionary and laud them as the way to go. Germany is turning into an old person watching itself decay but taking pleasure in criticizing more dynamic people.

[@DWREV]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I'm surprised to hear you found the report biased against the changes in Paris. Did you watch the whole report? We presented several proponents of the changes, including the mayor, the deputy mayor, the APUR representative, the city planner, and the architect. Of course we also included critics to ensure a balanced view, aiming to represent all sides of the debate fairly.

[@mardiffv.8775]

I have cycled in Munich as a tourist and Munich has many separated bike paths. In 90 % of the streets I was separated from cars, cycling in safety. And in those 10 % I had to share the road with cars, that was fine too. German drivers are very nice considerate people. Saying Hi from the Netherlands.

[@elysian2765]

@@mardiffv.8775now try berlin

[@oy6nt]

I like cars, but not for commuting in the city. It's time people start to think why do they need a 1.5 ton machine to carry a 70kg person around.

[@piconano]

Easy fix. Give them 100% tax credit refund on the purchase of any electric bicycle, electric micro cars and delivery vans. No driver's license or insurance mandatory, but recommended if you don't wanna be sued after an accident. Charge cars a hefty toll to use the city streets. This move will also convert people from gas to electric. Two birds, one stone. Sorry for the analogy birds.

[@noefillon1749]

That's basically already the case. You don't have a 100% refund on an electric bike but you can get subsidies for it, depending on your income [1]. Regarding the toll, it is kind of applied through parking fees. It is EXTREMELY expensive to park in Paris and actually the marginal price (price of an extra hour) increases as you park longer [2].

[@mardiffv.8775]

You are right, E-bikes have a maximum range back and forth of 25 km/ 15 miles (range for convenience of commuting, not the maximum range). So for more people living in Paris' suburbs can use an e-bike.

[@MetDaan2912]

I don't understand why this video is so one-sided. There are four times as many people interviewed who are against than who are in favour, while most urban planners would praise most aspects of Paris' transformation.

[@DWREV]

I'm surprised some people find this video biased against the changes in Paris. That certainly was not our intention, and some viewers on the other side find it biased in favor of the changes! In any case, thanks for your perspective and we'll keep it in mind.

[@TalwinderDhillonTravels]

How is the suburbs not doing enough for their citizens in terms of transportation and quality of life Paris's responsibility or problem to resolve? Maybe they should have asked these questions to those mayors??

Because the suburb is composed of multiple cities and because trains are not managed by these cities but by the region. Things are on their ways with the Grand Paris Express, scheduled to be mostly completed in 2030. But the city of Paris is anticipating things by almost 10 years and letting people in the suburb pay the consequences whilst they wait for these new trains.

[@slasherfun]

Paris has exactly zero responsibility in the suburbs still having car centric streets.

[@elysian2765]

paris has plenty of empty park and rides. they can drive to a public transport hub and park for free there.

[@BoulderHikerBoy]

This was a frustrating story to watch because the correspondent never asked the obvious question: If you don't like what Hidalgo is doing, what is your credible alternative strategy to move that many people through the city? A bike lane can move 5,200 people per hour in the space that a lane of traffic can only move 1,000 cars per hour. The alternative is what, catastrophic gridlock? Congestion pricing? DW should not give the whiners a platform unless they have a viable alternative.

[@uncouver]

Work/school from home.

[@stickynorth]

Cities should only allow city/kei cars if at all... Public transit should be the priority way everyone gets around. Full-sized vehicles have no place in cities themselves. Those are for highway/out of town trips and you can rent those!

[@bazoo513]

When I spent six months in Paris consulting for SNCF, I went around exclusively by public transport (which has been improved even further since then.) I didn't even use taxi, even once, not even from and to the CDG airport. A colleague from SNCF picked me up once at my flat in 16th arrondissement and we drove to the project office in Saint-Denis, near Stade de France. It took us 15 minutes longer than my usual commute by metro. But can you imagine Monsieur De Caumont in metro or RER, with unwashed masses? He certainly can't.

[@thierryvt]

I love how the lawyer boomer is all up in arms about how bad banning motorized vehicles would be but fails to mention why other than "there will be no life" even though the opposite is pretty much always true. I have only one response to give that guy: ok boomer.

[@konliner9286]

Solutions I can think of : -Build more parking lots on the outskirts of Paris for the workers who live outside Paris and connect those parking lots with public transport. -Build more bicycle lanes to reduce tension with pedestrians. -More parking space in Paris that can only be used for commercial vehicles so private cars/bikes can't use it. Commercial vehicles are still very important.

[@ANONAAAAAAAAA]

Just banning cars without developing viable alternatives or public transits, is not very constructive way to solve this issue.

[@ANONAAAAAAAAA]

I like this idea: designing cities like lifestyle centers, which are walkable while easy to access by cars, with the assists of public transits or park-and-ride. The concept of good and evil doesn't bring us anywhere, it is on the border of contradicting ideas the true solution lies.

[@Nicoriss]

Yes, Paris probably has the best alternatives to cars already. They said at the beginning: 9% of trips are made by cars, meaning all others means of mobility are working great!

[@chainedej]

Go to Paris then and try taking unsecure, inefficient (strikes, incidents, frequencies), dirty, inaccessible (also knowing there’s almost no free parking to park in suburbs) transportation system. Even though there’s some better, it’s not enough at all. It’s really like the whole city and state: big projects and amibitions, but nothing happening to fix some big already existing issues. Why do they try to remove alternatives as long as the others aren’t working properly? I’m 100% sure that if that happened, most people would leave their car behind

[@slasherfun]

@@chainedej No alternative are being removed. Alternatives are being *added* actually.

[@yuriydee]

Im from NYC and wish we would implement the same policies here! Its happening but at super slow speed...

[@MAL1GNANT]

Boston and New York need to AGGRESSIVELY ban cars.

[@KeliK1]

I am a car enthusiast but I have to recognize that cars and motorcycles as useful and enjoyable as they can be are in the end a nuisance at many levels.

[@marcosfraguela]

Cars are fantastic when you are the only one driving.

[@graemetunbridge1738]

Lots of ( mostly ignorant ) opinions - where are the numbers ? For most cities, just remove the massive car subsidy and cars will go away - no 'dogma' required, just end the massive economic distortion. Commuting 30Km into the city, without a train, is crazy.

[@xcel5203]

I'm addicted to gasoline fumes ; please don't deprive me of my fix !

[@vasobluesman9585]

Completely agree with idea that you charge extra for SUV. You use those cars for mountain and muddy roads. City roads has been asphalted. If you like them pay extra charge. They take so much extra space and clearance.

[@amadeosendiulo2137]

You want one of your most valued landmarks as a traffic circle?

[@ThomasMann85643]

Très bien. On doit faire le même chose dans New York.

[@meaa00000]

Also, the Grand Paris express project was made to connect suburbs from one to another, and NOT to the city center (except for the already existing line 14 which is to be extended). Those connections from Paris to the suburb already exist, actually much of the subway and RER lines have terminus in the suburbs. There is plenty of documentation on the Grand Paris express project online, or the map of public transportation in Paris region, this is clearly poor journalism. Do better, DW

[@BristolKingRider]

This is how it should be the future less cars no more space, people’s should walk they’re all unhealthy getting it fat. And is great for the air that we breathe.

[@tiro2041]

I have never understood why so many people have to live in the same place?... Having lived in Amsterdam, Brussels, Istanbul, Antalya, Jeddah, Helsinki... I've never been more happy and healthy now that I live in a town of only 20'000...

[@todddammit4628]

Jobs mostly.

[@murdelabop]

I hear you loud and clear. I've lived both in cities and in rural areas, and I've found that I like the extremes. I like living in places that are either densely urban, or out in the sticks rural. What I hate are car dependent suburbs, which have the drawbacks of both and the advantages of neither. Unfortunately, being American, almost all of the places developed in the past century are car dependent hellscapes, and most Americans seem to like it that way.

[@dallysinghson5569]

Jobs. Always jobs. That's why. No one can live in the rural areas with cheap properties because they are NO JOBS.

[@anugupta2598]

Amsterdam should be a role model for not just Paris but any city on this planet.

[@StephaneCalabrese]

1. Paris is a ultra high density very small territory. 2. Centralized France has made of Paris the heart of its economy activity. 3. While Paris is 2 million inhabitants, Greater Paris is more like 10 million people. And these 10 million people *have to* go to Paris. 4. Greater Paris public transportation from and to Paris is not good enough and doesn't allow a decent standard of living. I have lived for 10 years in Greater Paris. Not even far away from Paris. I had a train that was getting me to Gare Saint Lazare in 15 minutes. Only that I had a 10 minutes walk to the train station, a 10 to 15 minutes wait for the train, as I said, a 15 minutes ride to Paris, and then 2 metro lines to catch to get to work. Which acounts in total for 1hr15 of commuting (and another 1hr15 of commuting back). And this is when everything goes well. This is not a good standard of living. I see a lot of comments: Park your car outside the city and take the train or metro. Where? How? Where are these infrastructures? They don't exist. And then, let's be honnest. This is France. Who is ready to leave his car for 10 hours a day in a non secured parking lot? Who's ready to find his car broken in, vandalized? And as a side note, before I got a kid, I was living inside Paris. At one point, I felt so tired a out nerverending strikes affecting the metro, I bought a bike. Or more realistically, 3 bikes within a year. All stolen. And meanwhile, vandalized. Optics stolen. Seat stolen (I got it quickly, I had to take the seat off). Brake cables deliberately loosened up... After my 3rd bike got stolen, I quit, I went back to the dreaded Paris metro. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo is acting based on ideology, not on real people lives and needs. Mobilty has to be tackled from a Greater Paris perspective, not just inner Paris.

[@slasherfun]

1. True 2. Not really true: the heart of economical activity is Paris urban area 3. Absolutely false, in fact most people living outside Paris... don't go to Paris on a regular basis. 4. False, altough every additional improvement will be of course welcomed Why would you wait 10 to 15 minutes for a train that runs on a *timetabled* basis? Once in Paris, you could also use a bicycle (either your own or a Vélib') to reach your destination faster. There are over 100,000 parking spaces for cars in train stations around Paris, not mentioning that most Francilians live close enough to a train station to be able to get to it without having to use a car. About half of car owners leave their car on the (unsecured) street, taking a huge amount of public space, usually for free. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo is actually acting based on real people lives and needs. The point of Paris is not being a giant highway / car park for people living in the suburbs.

[@AS898-h3u]

I suggest moving your work closer to your home or move your home closer to work... you do have control over this decision and it is an important one instead of blaming politicians for your life decisions...

[@hikarikaguraenjoyer9918]

The areas around Paris need to improve their public transit for this to work, Grand Paris Express is a good example of something that will take people commuting outside of the center city off their cars

[@blackstone3469]

Stop the car snowball system!!! Revolution!!!

[@nh4544]

Let’s not forget that we French people always complain, whatever the option put on the table. So looking at the evolution of Paris with a bit of perspective, it’s certainly going in the right direction: better do something now, face a bit of criticism and make adjustments, than do nothing and complain when it’s too late ;-)

[@tjappiekonjo1097]

The lawyer is such a bullshitter haha. Also very tendentious clikbait title @DW REV

[@sabschmi]

It's the right way in Paris. People need to rethink their behavior. Cities need to be built for humans not for cars! Other cities should follow soon...but there must be a very good local public transportation system. Without that the transformation won't work well.

[@diaseamado]

Though I’m all for taking the cars out of the cities, I feel it became quite dangerous for pedestrians, i ‘ve been in situations I was almost run over by bicycles and scooters. They are too fast and silent. The right solution is to have public transport in quantity and quality

[@murdelabop]

Indeed. As well as infrastructure that separates bicycles from pedestrians.

[@donteatthechalk]

You think removing cars will be more dangerous for pedestrians? Hilarious.

[@diaseamado]

@@donteatthechalk no I think that adding more bicycles and scooters without physical separation from the pedestrians is more dangerous for both pedestrians and ciclysts. The space for cars was defined we knew if we were on the sidewalk we would be fine, now in some areas is not that clear.

[@Hepad_]

@@diaseamado No. The biggest danger for pedestrians and cyclists is and always will be cars.

[@ttnyny]

I lived in Paris for 12 months in 1985 and 1986 as a North American exchange student. During this time, I used my bicycle for the vast majority of my trips within the city (and for many of my trips outside the city, as well). While I was by no means a pioneer (since, after all, France is the birthplace of cycling), using a bike for getting around in Paris was much less common in the 1980s than it is now. As a North American cyclist, I was accustomed to cycling in harsh and intimidating streetscapes, so Paris did not seem that bad to me at the time. But it certainly presented challenges. It's vastly better now - 40 years later - and I applaud the hard and at times thankless work of the current mayor Paris and her predecessors in transforming the roadway transportation landscape in that most amazing city.

[@wdevil1280]

ahahha. more bikes get in your way? if all the bikes become cars then you'd have stuck traffic from 9 to 9. they talk about bikes taking space but not about the parked cars that take up 1 lane on each side in a lot of places?! ahahah, this must be paid propaganda. wonder how much for such a video

[@sponko]

As an American visiting Paris I have to say I love the walkable city, I can walk all the way to the Eiffel Tower and take the impressive Metro on the way back, I show up and only have to wait 2 minutes. I went to Versailles and the Uber there took longer than the train ride back.

[@SteffiReitsch]

With bicycles, electric bicycles, scooters, public transportation, etc., why not get rid of the cars? Raise the taxes on the cars dramatically.

[@eabellamy1]

As a former resident of Paris, privileging the bike in compact urban centers in Europe, and public transport is clearly the way to go. As in city in the Netherlands, huge, cheap and secure P&R Parkings in the outskirts of the city should be built so suburban people can drop their car and continue their journey by bike or public transport. Congestion charge is also a great idea.

[@aur.c]

To say that public transportation is not developed in Paris extra muros is false, the regional metro system is extensive and gets you to the city centre quite easily. You could park your car close to the station and continue on train

[@tallest4eva]

Anyone complaining about traffic IS part of the problem because they ARE part if the traffic. Imagine how congested Paris would be if all those cyclists had their own cars.

[@nemanjaivanovic5973]

As a driver, a cyclist, a parent, a human, … when it comes to cities, I say “fuck cars”.

[@uncouver]

and this is the exact kind of argument that leads car owners to be suspicious of this movement.

[@nemanjaivanovic5973]

Feel free to be as suspicious as you like, but I moved from a city where public transit was a joke and cycling infrastructure was nonexistent, causing me to spend a huge portion of my time stuck in a car. Sitting on my balcony was not pleasant due to the noise and particulate matter from cars. Now I live in a city where I often go weeks without starting my car. I take my bike everywhere, I let my kids ride their bikes anywhere in the city. And we still go on multiple road trips every year with the car - because the car is quite useful outside of cities.

[@moshpic]

The lawyer is lost in his ideology. 1/4 of Parisians have a car. Not the other way round.

[@jimboy419]

It's very nice to have clean air in the city. In the past it was horse manure. Now it's polluted air.

[@nevarran]

It has proven all over the world that taking people out of their cars makes for better living environment. It creates more social interactions, it reduces stress, and it helps the small businesses. Good on Paris. And I'm saying this as a car enthusiast.

[@uncouver]

The most arrogant demographic (the petite bourgeousie) needs more help right? Lets let small cookie store owners clutter our sidewalks with signs and spill their merchandise out into the streets. Encourage more social interactions? Nah, jsut turn every developed area into one massive shopping mall for tourists.

[@adrianmosher]

People should have more right to choose their home address and transportation method than tens of floors of corporate buildings to be in the city centers to show off their brands. Decentralize them!

[@s.leochapman417]

I'm in two minds about this. I lived in Paris (or rather, an affluent nearby suburb) for four years. Certainly, many areas in the centre have been greatly improved through pedestrianisation and my own neighbourhood had superb public transport options, but the governance issue mentioned and problem of punitive ecology are very real - boxing out those in distant, poorer neighbourhoods, who are obliged to use their car because of poor or over-saturated mass transit is something that needs to be addressed, perhaps by making allowances for those living further afield. Otherwise, the effect can be deeply classist and limiting for people already struggling. On the other hand, taxing SUVs does seem to make a lot of sense, as it's a safety and spatial issue, as well as an environmental one. Large SUVs and trucks are significantly more dangerous to pedestrians and they occupy much-needed space in the centre, at a time when families are statistically much smaller than before. It's illogical.

[@slasherfun]

People in poorer neighborhoods can't afford the cost of car trips to dense cities, people using a car in Paris today are mostly wealthy people whose trip doesn't actually require a car. In most of the suburbs, streets are built so that cars are often the only safe option to move around: it makes everyday trips way more expensive than they could/should be, cities much more dangerous and polluted than they could/should be, and basically prevents anyone who can't drive a car, whether too young, too poor, too old, or with an important health issue, to freely move around on their own.

[@uncouver]

Bingo.

[@fixmontgolfier2150]

Well, obviously you're not poor yourself or you'd know that the pohibitive cost of cars makes them unvavailable for poor people. Poor people need modes of transportation that are reliable ans cheap, ie. pubic transports or vehicules that don't cost much and are efficient for short to mid distances, such as, for example, bicycles...

[@AndrewMott6]

“We’ve tried nothing and we’re all out of ideas!”

[@Mo-mu4er]

Who gives a shit what a lawyer thinks when it comes to urban planning and transit? What would they know about it? Good on Paris for listening to urban planners, urbanists, and transit activists,