Paris Votes to Make 500 More Streets Car-Free
With the passage of a referendum Sunday, Mayor Anne Hidalgo will amplify her ambitious moves to challenge car dominance and expand pedestrian access.
One Sunday a month, the Champs-Elysees Avenue in Paris is reserved for pedestrians. Other streets will be closed to cars all the time.
Photographer: Telmo Pinto/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Paris voters opted in a referendum Sunday to close 500 more city streets to cars, making way for pedestrians, bikers and greenery. The plan, which will also remove 10% of Paris’ current parking spots, will expand on a green push by Mayor Anne Hidalgo that has already seen 300 streets planted and cleared of cars since 2020.
Coming a year before the end of Hidalgo’s second and final term, the initiative will continue to change the face and character of a city that has already taken major steps away from car dominance towards an emphasis on public transit and active travel. The aim is to pedestrianize five to eight streets per neighborhood, with locals being consulted this spring to determine which streets would be most suitable, and an average budget of €500,000 ($540,000 USD) per street.