AFP, PARIS: Strollers and cyclists can breathe easy on the banks of the Seine after Paris on Monday approved a plan to ban cars on a long stretch of riverside road cutting across the city. Socialist Mayor Anne Hidalgo hailed the move as a “historic decision, the end of an urban motorway and the taking back of the Seine.”
A centrepiece of her battle against pollution, the plan has divided opinion in the French capital.
“We need to slow down a bit, let go, stop and relax,” said Violetta Kolodziejczak, a restaurant greeter.
“If you’re in a car, who has time to appreciate all this?” asked the Polish 56-year-old, sweeping an arm towards the turret-topped stone facades on the riverside, with the Eiffel Tower in the distance.“It’s magnificent.”A recent opinion poll found 55 percent support for the plan among Parisians.
Nearly 19,000 people signed a petition in favour, while a motorists’ association gathered 12,000 signatures of members who oppose it.
The car ban applies to 3.3 kilometres (two miles) of an expressway on the Right Bank of the Seine.