Daily Times

PARIS: Strollers and cyclists can breathe easy on the banks of the Seine after Paris on Monday approved a plan to ban cars on a long stretch of riverside road cutting across the city.

Socialist Mayor Anne Hidalgo hailed the move as a “historic decision, the end of an urban motorway and the taking back of the Seine.” A centrepiece of her battle against pollution, the plan has divided opinion in the French capital. “We need to slow down a bit, let go, stop and relax,” said Violetta Kolodziejczak, a restaurant greeter.

“If you’re in a car, who has time to appreciate all this?” asked the Polish 56-year-old, sweeping an arm towards the turret-topped stone facades on the riverside, with the Eiffel Tower in the distance. “It’s magnificent.” A recent opinion poll found 55 per cent support for the plan among Parisians. Nearly 19,000 people signed a petition in favour, while a motorists’ association gathered 12,000 signatures of members who oppose it.

The car ban applies to 3.3 kilometres (two miles) of an expressway on the Right Bank of the Seine. The project, with a cost estimated at eight million euros ($9.0 million), will add wooden walkways and greenery while leaving a lane for emergency vehicles. As expected, left-wing and environmentalist members of the city council approved the plan on Monday, while the minority right-wing opposition voted against it.

The right-dominated greater Paris region has been hostile to the plan, citing fears that bottlenecks on alternative routes will hurt businesses and delay commuters. Pensioner Veronique Gryson, out walking along the Seine with her husband, said the car ban could be “an expensive privilege” for pedestrians.

“For us, it’s very pleasant,” she said. “But during the week if there are 200 pedestrians and at the same time you have 20,000 disgruntled motorists up there (on another road), that might be a problem.” Opponents have also complained of a lack of consultation and insufficient testing of the plan.

Paris police chief Michel Cadot, whose remit includes ensuring smooth traffic flows, said on Monday that a committee would track the impact of closing the road previously used by around 43,000 cars each day.