The Paris Bicycle Boom
While Paris has not been known as a cycle-friendly city, all that is changing, with some 50km of bike lanes added in the past few months alone. Here, Caroline Harrap reports on the new craze that is sweeping the capital
It’s rush hour on the rue de Rivoli – the iconic thoroughfare that stretches through the heart of Paris – and, for a moment, the only sound to be heard is the dinging of bells. Where once this major artery would have been teeming with traffic, it is now dominated by bicycles. Other than a section of the street reserved for buses, taxis and emergency vehicles, here the cyclist is king.
It marks the culmination of a major change in urban policy for Paris, a city which has, historically, always had a love affair with the motorcar. But since Anne Hidalgo was elected Mayor of Paris in 2014, she has set about transforming the city into a world cycling capital, with an investment of more than €150m and the aim of doubling the number of bike lanes.
This policy was further boosted by the public transport strikes of late 2019 – and then, of course, along came Covid. With many people keen to cycle, rather than risk crowded transport, and others wanting new ways to keep fit, Hidalgo ushered in some 50km of pop-up bike lanes across the city. Nicknamed coronapistes, these segregated cycleways were an immediate hit and are now a permanent fixture.
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