Paris - More Seine River Banks in Paris to Become Pedestrian-Friendly

Bike and walking aficionados will likely be thrilled, while some Parisian commuters may be nonplussed: Paris city officials have just unveiled plans to transform large swathes of the Seine riverside expressway on the city's left and right banks into pedestrian and bike-friendly zones.

The plans, which should be complete by the summer of 2012, will effectively eliminate a 2 km/1.2 mile section of the expressway on the left bank between the Solferino and Pont d'Alma metro stations, which will become pedestrian and bike-only zones. On the right bank, the local Paris government says it plans to transform the existing expressway into a road equipped with traffic lights and pedestrian and bike-only paths. This stretch of the Seine is already appropriated every summer to create a Seine-side beach (Paris Plage).

[We might ask ourselves, if Paris can reduce car expressways, why cannot ? -MH]