Cars and trucks on one of Europe’s most notoriously congested and polluted urban highways would not only be obliged to drive more slowly, they’d have less room to do it: The number of beltway lanes open to all traffic would also be slashed from eight to six. One lane will be reserved for public, emergency, and zero-emissions vehicles. The other one is to be devoted to trees. — CityLab
Paris officials are making plans to redesign the traffic lanes for the city's 22-mile-long ring road, Boulevard Périphérique.
A recent report calls for retrofitting the eight-lane highway as part of a wider effort to crack down on car usage across the city. Since taking office in 2014, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has successfully pushed the city to lessen its autocentric configuration by pedestrianizing the streets surrounding the Seine, among other efforts.
A relic of post-World War II urban planning logic, Boulevard Périphérique was built between 1958 and 1973 on the former site of the Thiers Wall, the final remaining set of fortifications surrounding Paris. Today, the concrete highway is a source of toxic air pollution and noise, qualities the coming retrofits are aimed at addressing.
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