People walk and cycle through the snow-covered alley of the Champ de Mars following heavy snowfall in Paris, on February 7, 2018, near the Eiffel Tower. Photo / Getty Images
People walk and cycle through the snow-covered alley of the Champ de Mars following heavy snowfall in Paris, on February 7, 2018, near the Eiffel Tower. Photo / Getty Images
Paris wasn't always a cycling city. If you'd visited in the 80s, you might have seen a Frenchman riding a bicycle, in a striped Breton shirt and beret, with a baguette in the basket. But probably not. That was the quaint idea of Paris, but it wasn't really a thing.
Instead, you'd have found a city choked with cars, especially by the River Seine and near every famous monument. Floods of Renaults and Citroens careering through enormous roundabouts, every car with dings in it.
But in 2015 Mayor Anne Hidalgo introduced the five-year Plan Velo, with €150 million ($245 million) allocated to new cycleways and parking spots. The speed limit on most streets is now 30km/h. And, on the first Sunday of each month, cars are restricted and public transport and bike hire are free. They call it "Paris Respires": Paris Breathes.
When Covid struck, Paris set out another 52km of "corona lanes": temporary bike lanes for people unable or unwilling to use public transport.
With training funded for children, all Parisians will be taught to ride a bike and Paris will become 100 per cent cyclable. Photo / Supplied
Last month Hidalgo unveiled Plan Velo: Act 2, a new five-year project with a €250 million ($405 million) budget. They will build another 130km of dedicated bike lanes, make the corona lanes permanent and add tens of thousands more secure bike parks. One thousand of them will be for cargo bikes.
Also funded: training for kids: "all young Parisians" will learn how to ride a bike. Paris will become a "100 per cent cyclable city".
Oh yes, and they're also taking out more than 70 per cent of the on-street car parks.
Paris has a population of 2.2 million, although many millions more live outside the city limits. For comparison, Auckland has 1.7 million and struggles to build 10km of cycleway a year. The lesson? Can't be done without political leadership.
