“At some point, we have to get started”: paying parking for two-wheelers being tested in Paris?

It is a delicate subject, on which everyone is moving cautiously.

Everyone, except Delphine Bürkli.

The mayor (DVD) of the 9th will propose, next week to the Council of Paris, that the paid parking of motorized two-wheelers be introduced in his district, for a test phase.

For now, bikers can park for free wherever they want, in a dedicated space or in a car space.

They are only prohibited from parking on the sidewalk.

“Making two-wheelers pay is a commitment I made during the municipal elections.

I have been thinking about this for three years, explains the elected.

We must put an end to this anarchy that exists in public space.

"

If she decided to act today, it is because her patience has reached its limits.

For a long time, the question seems to bother the City of Paris.

For years, the mayor (PS) Anne Hidalgo strongly opposed it.

Before a relaxation of the speech around 2019.

The conclusions of the general parking lot are long overdue

Last year, the case seemed even heard, according to David Belliard, deputy (EELV) in charge of Transport.

“Anne Hidalgo and I, during the electoral campaign, we declared in favor of paying parking for motorized two-wheelers.

For the moment, we are working, nothing has yet been arbitrated.

Things will settle down at the start of next year, ”he said again in December.

Since then, nothing.

However, “the states general of the parking lot are finished.

But no conclusion has reached us ”, regrets Delphine Bürkli.

Last month, the mayor of the arrondissement therefore went to Charenton and Vincennes (Val-de-Marne), the only two municipalities in Ile-de-France that have set up paid parking for two-wheelers. .

“Their feedback is very positive,” assures Delphine Bürkli.

“We invested very early on to create parking for two-wheelers on spaces previously intended for cars.

In a dense and constrained territory, it seemed fair to us to pay for it, in proportion to the surface occupied.

Since then, suction cups have disappeared: garages are probably better used, and public spaces are in any case much better respected, ”confirms Charlotte Libert-Albanel, the mayor (UDI) of Vincennes.

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Charge for scooters and motorcycles to park in Paris?

In Vincennes, this is already the case

So why so much reluctance in Paris?

The subject is obviously explosive.

No less than 100,000 motorcyclists circulate in the capital every day.

It is so many potential malcontents.

Jean-Marc Belotti, the coordinator of the Federation of angry bikers of Paris and its inner city, explained again this Thursday, to the Parisian, his opposition in the name of "the freedom to move".

A petition against paid parking for two-wheelers has also collected more than 21,000 signatures since the fall.

Five euros per month for residents

Delphine Bürkli, who met the bikers last week, invites us to go beyond the divisions.

“Verbalization is not an end in itself.

The goal is not to make money.

Parking prices would even be very low, five euros per month for residents for example.

The idea is rather to empower bikers.

This is what happened in Vincennes and Charenton.

"

The mayor of the 9th district is also proposing the creation of secure spaces for these vehicles, with why not video protection cameras, or partnerships with private car parks.

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Will it be heard so far?

During the vote of his wish in the district council, the elected representatives of the opposition abstained, without criticizing the initiative.

Quite the contrary, if we listen to what Arnaud Ngatcha said.

The elected of Paris in Common, the group of Anne Hidalgo, seemed to anticipate an upcoming declaration from David Belliard, announcing a generalization of paid parking for two-wheelers?

"I do not want to preempt what he is going to announce in consultation with the mayor of Paris," he said.

Official announcements in the spring

Moreover, in its 2021 budget, the City has provided for an increase in parking revenue of 45 million euros.

It's hard to imagine two-wheelers not participating in it.

“These arguments, I have already heard them in 2018, in 2019… Anne Hidalgo has been elected for a long time.

If this is a subject that was at the heart of her policy, she could have implemented it, retorted Delphine Bürkli.

We have to be proactive.

At one point, you have to get started.

"

Except that she might be disappointed.

“There is still a workshop to be conducted for the general parking conditions.

This process must be completed.

We will announce the conclusions in the spring, sweeps David Belliard, joined this Thursday evening.

But I am happy to see a gradual trans-partisan convergence on this subject.

"