Less pollution and less traffic jams. This is the promise made by the Parisian government on November 23, 2023, as the City of Paris presented its project for a dedicated carpool lane on the outer ring road. This measure will be implemented for the occasion of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The measure is based on a finding that 80% of the 1.5 million daily trips are made by people driving alone in their cars. According to the association Airparif, which monitors air quality, 8,000 premature deaths are linked to fine particle pollution in Paris and the Île-de-France region. “One of the solutions is to use your car with others,” said David Belliard, deputy in charge of transport.
During the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, a dedicated lane for officials and emergency services will be set up from the Porte de Sèvres to the Porte de Bercy. After the Games, the City intends to extend the entire system to the entire ring road and dedicate it to carpooling, taxis, public transport, and emergency vehicles.
Located in the left lane, it will be activated “according to the situation,” with a set schedule from Monday to Friday, from 7am to 10:30am and from 4pm to 8pm. Video surveillance will be used for monitoring. To set an example, the municipality intends to launch a platform dedicated to carpooling for its employees. 55,000 people could be involved.
The City still needs to convince the Police Prefecture, which has authority over the installations on the ring road. “We are confident. The Olympic law project did indeed provide for the possibility of permanence. The State has confirmed this by initiating its own consultation on the permanence of the Olympic lanes on the A1 and A13 highways,” said Emmanuel Grégoire. The measure will be accompanied by a reduction in the authorized speed to 50 km/h. For this, the City shouldn’t need the authorization of the Police Prefecture.
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