‘Calmer, safer, greener’: Paris to cut parking spaces by 50%

Half of all car parking spaces in Paris are to disappear in new government plans to make more room for alternative, eco-friendly options - with a new online survey inviting residents to share their ideas.

The Paris mairie has confirmed that 70,000 car parking spaces of the 140,000 currently available in the capital will be removed in future years.

The idea is that removing car parking spaces, especially those along narrow roads and residential streets, will free up space for alternative and more eco-friendly forms of transport and leisure.

David Belliard, deputy mayor in charge of public space, told newspaper Le Parisien that in removing 50% of car parking spaces in the capital, 65 hectares would become available - almost three times’ the size of the city’s Jardin du Luxembourg park, in the 6th arrondissement.

He explained: “Cars make up just 13% of journeys [in the city].”

He added that only 30% of Parisians own a car, and even those who do own one, tend to use them mainly at the weekends.

A new online platform - idee.paris.fr - has been launched to gather residents' opinions on what should replace these car parking spaces, which are 10m2 each.

The options include:

• Wider pavements for walking
• Cycle lanes for bikes
• Hygienic public toilets
• Roadside gardens
• Disabled parking access
• Food composting spaces
• Café terraces
• Children’s play areas
• Vegetable allotments
• Sports areas
• Recycling points
• Electric vehicle charging stations
• Artwork installations
• Public performance spaces
• Picnic tables
• Rain shelters
• Bike lock-up areas
• Parcel lockers for online shopping orders
• Fountains and water features

The website asks: “Tell us what you would like - or not like - to see on your street.”

Ideas include bike lock-up areas, gardens, composting spaces, parcel pick up lockers, and more (Photos: Idee.paris.fr)

Mr Belliard added: “This initiative will be accompanied by a citizens’ convention, scheduled for November, with a panel of citizens chosen at random that are representative of Parisians, who will discuss the freed-up spaces and work together with various experts on the subject.”

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo tweeted: “What would you do with 10m2 [of space] in front of your place? Take part in the big consultations to transform half the parking spaces in Paris. Calmer, safer, greener: Let’s imagine the future of our streets together!”

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