A month and a half after the launch of the consultation on the project of lane reserved for carpooling, public transport and taxis on the Paris ring road, the register kept by the town hall has just over 6100 opinions. The figure, which should hardly jump before the closing of the consultation this Sunday at midnight, shows a very low participation in view of the 1.5 million vehicles that use this road daily and the 7 million inhabitants of the metropolis of Greater Paris. An overwhelming majority of contributors – 80% according to our colleagues from the JDD – express their opposition to the project.
Not enough to shake the plans of the mayor of Paris. The lane reserved for athletes, organizers and medical staff during the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be well maintained beyond the sporting event to accommodate taxis, buses and carpoolers. If the town hall promises on its website that "100% of the contributions will be analyzed and taken into consideration", the consultation does not have the value of a vote. "We are ready to discuss and adjust the project," confirmed to the JDD David Belliard, deputy transport, evoking in particular "the question of the relevance of the device on weekends", without ever questioning the project itself.
Read alsoGreen ring road, urban forests... Anne Hidalgo's unachievable projects that stir up the anger of Parisians
Lack of impact assessment
In a forum published this Sunday, still in the JDD, 1800 elected officials in the Paris region, including Valérie Pécresse and Rachida Dati, rebel against the "unilateral will of Anne Hidalgo" and call on the mayor of Paris to "renounce". The signatories are concerned about the risk of "traffic congestion" and its "dramatic effect on air quality", contrary to the measure decided by Anne Hidalgo which seeks precisely to reduce air pollution. By dedicating the left lane of the urban ring – which has between two and four depending on the section – to shared mobility, Paris City Hall intends to convince 10% to 20% of "autosolistes" to stop driving alone, which would theoretically eliminate 100,000 to 200,000 vehicles per day.
The data put forward by the Parisian executive, however, is not based on any independent impact study. "As noble as the will of the mayor of Paris to respond to major environmental issues, it is not possible to make a decision of this nature without first questioning the possible consequences that such a project would imply for traffic and air quality in Île-de-France," regret the 1800 elected officials in their tribune. And to cite as an example the pedestrianization of lanes on banks decided by Anne Hidalgo in 2016, whose consequences on congestion and a "possible" negative effect on air pollution have been pointed out by the Institute of Public Policy.
In addition to removing access to the left lane for all motorists, Anne Hidalgo also plans to limit the speed of traffic on the ring road to 50 km / h, against 70 km / h today. Another decision judged very severely on the register kept by the town hall. Final decisions are expected to be made in mid-July by the mayor of Paris in person. Time to take stock of the month and a half of consultation which ends this Sunday evening at midnight.