Bertrand Delanoë
Streetsblog Basics
Picturing a Car-Free Seine: The New Vision for the Paris Waterfront
A few weeks ago, Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoë announced a plan to transform his city's waterfront, closing 1.2 miles of expressway on the left bank of the Seine and slowing the highway along the right bank to the speed of a city boulevard. For an added bit of historical irony, the city's waterfront expressway is named for Georges Pompidou, the president responsible for scarring the nation's cities with highways -- the French Robert Moses, if you will.
May 7, 2010
How Paris is Beating Traffic Without Congestion Pricing
Biking by the Seine during car-free hours on the Georges Pompidou Expressway.
April 22, 2008
Après Congestion Pricing, It’s Time to Look at the Paris Model
Amsterdam Ave. and 76th St. with street space reallocated to walkers, bikes and buses.
April 15, 2008
Paris Wins the ITDP Sustainable Transport Award
The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy has chosen Paris for its 2008 Sustainable Transportation Award. In a letter from the ITDP Board of Directors to Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoë, the Institute praises the French capitol's recent transportation policies, most notably the Vélib project:
November 30, 2007
French Revolution
Two lanes in the middle of this Parisian avenue have been set aside for the exclusive use of buses, bikes and taxis. Private automobiles have been squeezed into the margins.
July 26, 2007
The London Model is Dead. Time to Look at Paris.
David Haskell, executive director of the Forum for Urban Design, and organizer of last week's New York Bike-Share Project demonstration in Soho, says it's time for New York City to ditch the London model and take a closer look at the traffic-reduction techniques Paris has implemented without congestion pricing. An op/ed in today's New York Times focuses on one aspect of the Paris approach, bike-sharing:
July 18, 2007
A French Revolution: This One On Two Wheels, No Guillotine
On Sunday in Paris, more than 10,000 bicycles became available at 750 self-service docking stations. The bike program, called Vélib (for "vélo," bicycle, and "liberté," freedom) is supposed to double in size by the end of the year. Pierre Aidenbaum, mayor of Paris's trendy third district, said "For a long time cars were associated with freedom of movement and flexibility. What we want to show people is that in many ways bicycles fulfill this role much more today." The New York Times reports:
July 16, 2007
Unintended Consequences of Paris’s Traffic-Reduction Policies
Red lights mean gridlock on this real-time map of Parisian road traffic.
February 12, 2007