[hawkinspeter]

[url]https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2025/04/12/air-pollution-paris-health-cars/[/url]

or
[url]https://archive.is/zWfzo[/url]

[quote]The change shows how ambitious policymaking can directly improve health in large cities. Air pollution is often described by health experts as a silent killer. Both PM 2.5 and nitrogen dioxide have been linked to major health problems, including heart attacks, lung cancer, bronchitis and asthma.

Paris has been led since 2014 by Mayor Anne Hidalgo, a Socialist who has pushed for many of the green policies and has described her wish for a “Paris that breathes, a Paris that is more agreeable to live in.”

Her proposals have faced pushback — from right-leaning politicians, a car owners’ association and suburban commuters, who say that targeting cars makes their lives more difficult.[/quote]

Topic

[bikes]

So bike lanes don’t turn
So bike lanes don’t turn everything into a ghost town, or is central Paris empty now?

[Eton Rifle]

The French have remained
The French have remained remarkably resistant to decades of health education around smoking. The smoking rate is between 34% and 50%, depending on how you define a smoker. This compares to about 12% in the UK.

The other thing is that, whereas in the UK, smoking is largely confined to the poor and the elderly, all sectors of French society still smoke. I seem to attract the sods.i can sit down at a table on a terrace and, within 10 minutes, someone will sit down at the next table, upwind and spark up a foul-smelling clope.

[andystow]

Eton Rifle wrote:

Eton Rifle wrote:

They just need to do something about all the smoking now…

Last time I went, it at least seemed to be no longer mandatory.

After smoking, they can tackle the puddles of dog pee on the pavement.

[Eton Rifle]

I went to central Paris last
I went to central Paris last April for the first time in 25 years and the improvement is truly astonishing. Far less motorised traffic, more buses and bikes just everywhere. The streets and buildings looked better because the streets weren’t rammed with cars, the air smelled better, it was quieter and crossing the road wasn’t a life-threatening exercise.

Perhaps best of all, with Paris being a great city to sit outside and people-watch, it was lovely to do so without the constant noise, stench and intimidation of cars a metre away. They just need to do something about all the smoking now…

[the little onion]

The other thing about the

The other thing about the changes in Paris is that it is just so much more pleasant than it was before. Not only is the air cleaner, but the streets are more pleasant, less motor noise, easier to cross safely. And best of all, the outside tables of the street cafes and bars are a million times nicer.

[bensynnock]

Southampton?
Southampton?

[Simon E]

Those suburban commuters are

Those suburban commuters are just selfish. They don’t want to acknowledge how their choice to use private car transport impacts negatively on everyone else along the route – pollution, noise, road danger and intimidation, congestion, occupying so much space while en route as well as when parked….

But that’s motonormativity for you.

[qwerty360]

My understanding was traffic

My understanding was traffic data also suggests that its actually made driving quicker not slower in Paris.

 

The demand is transport, not driving. By making other modes more attractive they moved the speed around which people decide driving is too slow so look for other means of travel where possible.

Freeing up space for those where other options to driving aren’t available (heavy logistics, disabled etc).

[quiff]

Paris, yesterday

Paris, yesterday

[pockstone]

The Washington Post had best
The Washington Post had best watch their step publishing wokery like this in the current climate. Likely to end up in an El Salvadorean megaprison.

[David9694]

Down my way, a 200 yard bus

Down my way, a 200 yard bus gate or 20 mph limit extinguishes all economic and domestic life, so I assume Paris centre-ville has been rendered a wasteland by this change? 

[chrisonabike]

Terrible sales technique.

Terrible sales technique.

No, you first you find some results that pollution has gone up on some roads.  Then you assert that this is the result of the traffic reducing schemes.

Then you find one of the poor unfortunates who has in fact died – and say “see – that’s because more congestion on a particular road since the scheme.  These schemes have literally killed people!  And they always will because logically they simply move the traffic around – clearly it has to go somewhere!”

“And they are discriminatory too – it’s mostly the poor people who live next to the busy roads who are most affected.

“What about the elderly (trapped in their homes)?  Or people with serious health conditions who might need access to get to appointments, or for carers to get in?  And many working class people have to drive for work – what about their livelihoods?”

For bonus measure find a crew member from one of the local emergency services to say “since the change it’s definitely been slower sometimes – that could mean the difference between life and death for someone”. (Or if you can’t – one of their friends).

[momove]

We should be championing and
We should be championing and promoting this – it shows it can be done.

These are the results that can easily be achieved if we get past the “not here, not now, not this way” brigade.

[Bungle_52]

Quote:

Her proposals have faced pushback — from right-leaning politicians, a car owners’ association and suburban commuters, who say that targeting cars makes their lives more difficult.

If people have to die a slow and painful death to make my life easier, so be it.

[Author]

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