The Paris Approach to Sustainable Transportation - Streetsblog article

A few weeks ago, the popular on-line forum Streetsblog
from New York City, posted this interesting piece looking at how the
Mayor and Deputy Mayor for Transportation in Paris have approached the
transportation woes facing their city. It's a good read, and provides
some useful insights for the City of Toronto and Metrolinx as they move
forward tackling the GTA's transportation challenges.

"The mayor of a global metropolis, elected to his first term
in 2001, set out to reduce driving and promote greener modes of
transportation in his city. Congestion pricing turned out to be
unfeasible, because influential political forces in the suburbs
believed, rightly or wrongly, that charging people to drive into the
urban core was regressive. Undaunted, the mayor found other means to
achieve his transportation agenda.

The mayor is Bertrand Delanoë, and the city is Paris, where private auto use has dropped 20 percent in a few short years.

As Mayor Bloomberg and the team at DOT chart a way forward
without London-style congestion charging, it's worth noting that for
all the differences between New York and Paris, Delanoë also confronted
a vocal car culture while winning huge victories for pedestrians,
bikes, and transit. To get a better sense of how New York can apply the
lessons of Paris, Streetsblog spoke to Luc Nadal and Aimée Gauthier of
the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy about the
hurdles faced by Delanoë and his deputy mayor for transportation, Denis
Baupin."

To read the full article click here