90,2% of Île-de-France residents are “against the removal of a traffic lane on the ring road”, as a result of a recent online consultation; this survey was launched by the regional council of Ile-de-France in November 2021.
With 78,746 responses against the reservation to extend privileged uses of this lane after the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris 2024, this consultation shows a massive rejection of the project, putting forward major concerns regarding increasing congestion, pollution, practical difficulties and danger associated with entering and exiting the reserved lane, as well as an overall lack of details on the project and the users eligible for this lane.
Updating in view of the French elections
In the pre-election period, the removal of the traffic lane had become a political issue. In particular, it was debated by Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris, and Valérie Pécresse, President of Île-de-France.
The Mayor and Socialist Party’s candidate wished to reserve the whole 35-kilometre circular route for carpooling and “other virtuous modes“; on the other hand, the Republican candidate and President had been fiercely opposed to it.
As both have not reached the second electoral round, little is known of the future of this debate. It will remain, as the Latins would have said, a vexata quaestio.
