Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo,who along with Mayors from Sao Paulo, Brazil, Brussels and Bristol kicked off the initiative, said she is hoping the car-free day will convince skeptics that “Paris can operate without cars.”
Private cars, except electric powered ones, were not allowed to drive through Central Paris,which covers about a third of the city, between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Sunday. Outside this zone, cars are allowed to drive at 20 km/hour maximum.
France has the highest percentage of diesel cars on its roads in Europe. Successive French governments have subsidized diesel, making it cheaper than gasoline.
Paris Sans Voiture, a citizen’s group, who started the initiative expressed disappointment over the limited area it covered. Spokesperson Delphine Grinberg told the Libération newspaper.
The fact that a Sunday was chosen doesn’t help. Also some working-class neighborhoods were not included in the initiative. Public transport was not made free. The government did not understand the symbolic and educational implications of the day without cars. It is a disappointment.
In March this year, half of private cars, motor-bikes and almost all trucks were prohibited from running on the roads of the city for a day each as parts of the city were swathed in thick smog.
Christophe Najdovski, a Green deputy mayor in charge of transport told the Telegraph.
We’re already working on a more ambitious programme for 2016 so that the car-free area can include suburban areas as well.
But as far as car-free events go, Paris is no pioneer. Bogota, Colombia hosts one of the biggest car-free days in the world which covers the entire city. Brussels also has an annual car-free day covering the whole city.
