The fifty kilometres of bike lanes Paris added to shift pandemic commuter traffic to bikes will stay when the pandemic is gone, Mayor Anne Hidalgo announced last weekend, telling Europe 1 Radio “They will be made permanent, we’re working on that.”
While the lanes were set up quickly, nearly all of them were part of Hidalgo’s master plan for a more bike- and pedestrian-friendly city, and to combat the air pollution that has drawn warnings of sanctions from EU authorities. The best-known of the new routes, Rue de Rivoli along the Right Bank (above, in 2017 planning view) was one of those planned for years.
With public transit capacity drastically reduced during the pandemic and long lockdown, city officials wanted to make sure cycling became a good alternative, rather than increasing automobile traffic. The city even set aside funds to help with bike tune-up and repair, especially for those who hadn’t ridden their bikes in years.
