FRANCE: Can Paris inspire other cities to kick out the cars?

Hundreds of Parisian streets are to be closed to cars after a clear majority voted in favour of pedestrian-friendly measures in a citizens' poll in the French capital earlier in March.

The long-planned ban on private cars driving through the heart of Paris is the latest part of Mayor Anne Hidalgo's campaign to reduce pollution and congestion. Now it is a question of implementation, she says.

The idea is not new and supporters point to Ghent in Belgium, which blazed the car-free trail back in 1996.

Now in its 27th year, the ban has created a city core that is walk and bike-friendly, and where traffic jams have long since been a thing of the past.

In the Norwegian capital Oslo pedestrians and public transport have squeezed out cars too. Hundreds of parking spots have been eliminated in a bid to deter city motorists from heading downtown.

The Paris initiative has been met with a mixed reception in car-loving Germany, although some cities are considering the idea.

The pedestrian association Fuss e.V. and the Berlin cycling club ADFC welcomed the decision, while the huge ADAC automobile club called it "rather problematical."

The mayor of Paris will now order some 500 roads to be pedestrianised, even though just 4% of 1.4 million voters in the capital turned out to vote in the poll.

Right-wing opposition to the call described the ban as a "bogus PR trick." Some 65.96% of Parisians voted in favour of the measure, while 34.04% were opposed, official results showed.

In the coming years, 10,000 parking spaces could be lost in Paris and will have to be prepared for detours.

Which streets will become green pedestrian zones is now to be decided locally. There are likely to be around 25 in each of the 20 city districts. The realisation will probably take three to four years. However, the project has not yet been finalised.

The ADAC was quick to point put that the low turnout casts doubts on whether the result is meaningful.

"Car-free living is at best feasible for individual residential projects, but not on a neighbourhood basis or even for entire city centres," said a statement. The club said German drivers would resent losing parking spaces close to urban residential streets.

Leipzig in eastern Germany has been working towards a car-free city centre since 1993. The city centre is subject to a 20 km/h speed limit and cars may only be parked in marked areas and for a limited time.

The city of Hanover would prefer to eliminate cars completely. According to the city council's plans, the city centre should be largely car-free by 2030, with parking spaces vanishing and only multi-storey car parks remaining open.

Berlin is considered progressive but measures to kick out cars have met with little success. Road traffic is back on the central shopping street of Friedrichstrasse, which was reserved for pedestrians and cyclists for more than two years.

Some efforts to replace parking spaces with benches and picnic tables in the district of Kreuzberg have since been reversed. There are big plans in the Gräfekiez neighbourhood in Kreuzberg, where over 400 parking spaces are being removed and converted into green spaces and loading areas. Residents can help decide what to do with the vacant space.

In Paris, city hall declared the vote to be a choice in favour of or against noise and pollution. It is also about adapting to climate change. Parisians make most journeys on foot and rarely use their cars on inner-city routes.

Car traffic in Paris has indeed fallen by almost 50% since 2002. Nevertheless, according to the city planning office, cars still take up more than half of the public space. Around 220 of the more than 6,000 streets in Paris are already car-free.

A procedure like the one in Paris would not be conceivable in a country like Germany ,since streets cannot be closed to cars alone by a public vote. Such decisions must by law take into account the interests of all road users including traders.

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