As Deputy Mayor David Belliard of Europe Ecologie-Les Verts (EELV) aptly notes, cycling in Paris has transcended mere trendiness; it’s become a fundamental aspect of the city’s identity. Despite challenges like inclement weather, cyclists continue to flock to the streets, setting new attendance records and reshaping the urban landscape in the process.
Right now in every major city in America, active transportation supporters are pointing to this resounding success and shouting, “see, it works! Build the infrastructure to make cycling safe and convenient, and mode shift will occur!” And in every city, the response is “bUt We’Re NoT PaRiS!!1”
Just like “We’Re NoT UtReChT” “We’Re NoT AmStErDaM” “We’Re NoT [any other city that has successfully built a transportation system not completely dominated by automobiles].” Every. Time.
If you build it, they will come. Who would have thought!
Beautiful, just hoping Berlin will follow suit some day
Didn’t the new conservative government there stop any plans for new cycling infrastructure?
Yep… If I’m not mistaken they already reversed a lot of bike lanes. The condition was something on the lines of “if it blocks >5 parking spots in x meters then it can’t be a bike path”.
Also they plan to change the speed limit from many streets from 30 back to 50 kmh.
So yeah, Berlin is walking backwards at the moment…