Speed limit cut and car-sharing coming for jammed Paris ring road / Photo: THOMAS COEX - AFP/File
-
IoT Refrigerator Hacks Disrupt Blood Labs and Supermarkets Across Europe and US
-
South African election results renew debate over identity-based voting
-
Post-election pressures complicate US and Israeli decisions on Iran
-
South African voters report smoother local election but declining IEC trust
-
UN members approve talks on treaty protocol against environmental crime
-
Dolly Parton museum and Nashville hotel open after singer’s death
-
Family-run West Sussex beach café prepares for first winter season
-
George and Amal Clooney attend New York political-comedy reading
-
CT scans reveal health and burial clues from Egypt’s Braided Lady mummy
-
British buyers pay substantial premiums for period-home appearance
-
Oxford faces complaints over lecturer’s classroom attire
-
Thomas Markle released to house arrest after child-abuse-image charge
-
Kyren Wilson and John Higgins reach International Championship snooker final
-
Dawn of War 4 developers chose Adeptus Mechanicus for tactical variety
-
New Zealand and Tonga meet for place in Rugby League World Cup final
-
Italy face unbeaten South Africa in Turin Nations Championship match
-
Reports of unsafe AI-toy responses renew calls for child-safety rules
-
ChatGPT interactive interface feature tested across six custom tools
-
Juneau food network combines difficult supply routes with deep sharing traditions
-
Freshways milk-price cut deepens pressure on UK dairy farms
-
India climbs green-transition ranking after first emissions decline in 25 years
-
Labour and National remain virtually tied as New Zealand vote count advances
-
Trump names Stephen Miller as White House chief of staff after midterm losses
-
The Good Daughter adapts Karin Slaughter thriller with Rose Byrne and Meghann Fahy
-
Restored Albanian tower houses anchor new rural tourism trail
-
Heavy-lift drone evacuates wounded Ukrainian soldier from frontline kill zone
-
Sonia Gandhi reflects on family tragedy and reluctant political career
-
Morrison says West Brom recovered after pressure from successive derby losses
-
Pope Leo begins three-country South American tour in Uruguay
-
Britain considers 2027 state visit for Ukraine’s Zelensky
-
Khawaja says entire Australia camp knew of 2018 ball-tampering plan
Speed limit cut and car-sharing coming for jammed Paris ring road
Paris will set a speed limit of 50 kilometres per hour (30 mph) on the French capital's congested ring road and add a car-sharing lane after next year's Olympic Games, city hall said Thursday.
Aimed at reducing pollution and noise from the Boulevard Peripherique -- one of Europe's busiest roads -- the restrictions will come into force "a few weeks after the Olympics Games," deputy mayor for transport David Belliard told reporters.
The 35-kilometre (22-mile) Peripherique -- widely known as the "Periph'" -- is used by around 1.2 million vehicles every day, most of them from the Ile-de-France region that includes Paris.
Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo's plans have prompted an outcry from the conservative-controlled Ile-de-France regional government.
Responding to fears that the new measures would worsen the peripherique's traffic jams, Belliard said that "we want to get the same number of journeys done with fewer vehicles".
"The peripherique should no longer be an urban motorway" but an "urban boulevard", he added.
The peripherique has already seen reductions in its speed limit since it was completed in 1973, from 90 kph to 80 in 1993, then to 70 from 2014.
Drivers are alone in some 80 percent of the cars on the ring road.
After the Olympics, the left-hand lane will be reserved for cars carrying two or more people during peak times, with cameras used to fine infringers.
But there was one bone thrown to road users, as motorbikes and scooters will be legally allowed to wend between the often-jammed lanes -- as many already do.
P.Silva--AMWN
