The Liberation of Paris From Cars Is Working – “The French capital is quickly cutting automobiles out of daily life. David Belliard is the deputy mayor behind it.”[1,2] (previously)
Over the past six years, Paris has done more than almost any city in the world to take space back from cars. Mayor Anne Hidalgo has opened linear parks in the old highways along the Seine, phased out diesel cars in the city, opened bus lanes, raised parking meter prices, and plowed bike lanes down hundreds of streets. When COVID hit, Paris eliminated cars from the Rue de Rivoli, its major crosstown thoroughfare. Plans are in the works to pedestrianize the Champs-Elysées and plant thousands of trees to green, clean, and cool the city.
also btw…
- Socialist Paris mayor enters race for French presidency – “As mayor of Paris, Spain-born Hidalgo has won plaudits for converting the once traffic-choked banks of the river Seine into bustling promenades, for getting tough on polluting vehicles and creating new bike lanes during the COVID-19 crisis.”
- Fulgence Bienvenüe – “In 1886, Bienvenüe moved on to Paris to design and supervise the construction of aqueducts for the city, drawing water from the Aube and Loire Rivers. Next, he built a cable railway near the Place de la République and created the park of Buttes-Chaumont. In 1891, he was appointed as Engineer-in-Chief for Bridges and Roads, the most prestigious engineering job in France. Paris city officials selected Bienvenüe to become chief engineer for the Paris Métro in 1896.”
- Wuppertal Schwebebahn – “Its original name is Einschienige Hängebahn System Eugen Langen (Eugen Langen Monorail Overhead Conveyor System). It is the oldest electric elevated railway with hanging cars in the world and is a unique system in Germany.”[3,4]
- Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway – “It was built by a group of Cleveland, Ohio, electric railway entrepreneurs to serve as a high-speed, showpiece line using the most advanced technology of the time. It served Washington, Baltimore, and Annapolis, Maryland, for 27 years before the Great Depression and the rise of the automobile forced an end to passenger service.”[5]
- Why Are There Zero Republican Mega-Cities? – “Zero cities with over one million people currently have Republican mayors.”