David Belliard, the deputy mayor of Paris in charge of transportation, recently presented the city’s brand new pedestrian plan, “Paris: priority pedestrian!”, designed to be implemented from 2023 to 2030.
As a result, more than 100 hectares of pedestrian areas will be created within the public space. After proposing a first pedestrian plan in 2017 (and until 2022), the city of Paris is renewing the operation, always with the aim of making Paris as accessible as possible to those who walk through it.
This Pedestrian Plan was not thought of by chance: in fact, about 65% of the movements made within Paris were done on foot, according to David Belliard. In 2017, during the implementation of the first pedestrian plan by Christophe Najdovski (also the deputy mayor of Paris), the biggest project was to make the banks of the Seine pedestrian, which have since become a real open-air meeting place for sports or to gather with friends for Parisians.
So, by 2030, this brand new Pedestrian Plan aims to create 100 new pedestrian hectares, over 100 “streets for children” … as well as new pedestrian squares, the widening of sidewalks, and the creation of a pedestrian heart per district. Finally, by 2030, the city of Paris wants to pedestrianize all the alleys of the Parisian boulevards and avenues, a total of 12 kilometers, which until then were open-air parking lots.
A large-scale plan for the city as, by 2026, the investment made will amount to 300 million euros.