New French Minister to block Paris’ 50 km/h on ring road?

The Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, wants to introduce a speed limit of 50 km/hour on the Paris Ring Road from October 1st. Whether it will come to that remains to be seen because brand-new Transport Minister François Durovray says he is unconvinced about the project.

“I think this is not a decision that the mayor of Paris can take alone,” the Minister said in an interview with Le Parisien newspaper. “I intend to discuss the issue with the mayor of Paris because the Ring Road is not only the infrastructure of Parisians,” Durovray said.

No solo decision

According to Hidalgo, as Mayor of Paris, she alone can decide to reduce the speed limit on the 35-km-long Paris Ring Road from 70 to 50 km/hour. The Socialist mayor wants to do that to reduce noise and air pollution.

Others, however, including Valérie Pécresse, the president of the Île-de-France region, claim that Hidalgo must await an opinion from the state and that she cannot simply play cavalier seul on the matter. The new Transport Minister, who, like Pécresse, belongs to the Republican camp, also seems to share her position. “Reducing speeds on the Ring Road is an important issue that concerns all of Île-de-France and far beyond,” said Durovray.

Moving too fast

Like Pécresse, he also seems to favor soundproofing asphalt, although that measure costs much more. Moreover, Durovray thinks Hidalgo is moving much too fast. For example, Hidalgo also wants to reserve a lane on the Ring Road for carpooling. Still, according to him, the region’s offer is not yet ready, just as he feels that a sufficient alternative transport offer has not yet been worked out.

Paris Police Prefect Laurent Nuñez also reiterates that the consultations are incomplete. After all, the measure could have significant consequences in terms of user travel time, with substantial effects on secondary roads, increasing traffic difficulties throughout the Paris region,” the police prefecture said.

For now, the city of Paris maintains its position. However, the new Minister of Transport has already indicated that a consultation with Hidalgo will be held soon and that the file is high on the agenda.

Experts disagree on whether implementing the measure will lead to cleaner air or more traffic congestion. The only thing they currently agree on is that with a speed reduction from 70 to 50 km/hour, a reduction of between 1.9 and 2.8 decibels can be expected.