Paris has voted in favour of pedestrianising 500 streets in a referendum that took place yesterday (23 March).
Over 65% of voters were in favour of the measure whilst 34% voted against it. Turnout was just 4.06% – lower than last year’s referendum which tripled parking charges for SUVs.
In accordance with the result, 10,000 parking spots will be removed from the French capital, adding to the 10,000 that have already been removed since 2020.
“The referendum shows that Parisians are ready for a profound change in the way their city is designed. They want cleaner air, less noise pollution, more green space, and more space for people. The ambition to make the city less car-centric matches these aspirations,” Clément Drognat Landré, coordinator of the Clean Cities Campaign in France, told Zag Daily.
On the referendum turnout, Clément said that it’s in line with what’s to be expected from this kind of vote. Clément believes the result is representative of public opinion as a whole after a Clean Cities poll conducted two weeks before the referendum found that 71% of Parisians think life would be better in Paris with more pedestrian-only streets.
Parisians are to be consulted on which streets will become car-free, with the measure corresponding to five to eight streets per district, according to their size. Identification of the streets will begin in April, with City Hall estimating three years to carry out the work entirely.
Once they take effect, 700 streets in total will be pedestrianised – making up one-tenth of Paris’ streets.
The new measure comes as Mayor Anne-Hidalgo continues to oversee the transformation of the French capital. During her tenure, more than 1,300 kilometres of bike lanes have been created as well as 45 hectares of new parks.
Last year, Paris banned vehicles from transiting through its city centre to reduce motorised traffic in arrondissements one to four.
Yesterday’s vote was the third local referendum organised by Paris City Hall, after the city voted to ban e-scooters in 2023 and triple parking charges for SUVs in 2024.
