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BEFORE/AFTER: The Evolution of Parisian Bike Lanes Under Hidalgo

Updated: Mar 24, 2024

Anne Hildago, mayor of Paris, launched "Plan Vélo" in 2015 to build 700 km of bike lanes. Five years later, as roadworks are supposed to be complete, it's time to see the result.

Cyclists on the West-East Express Bike Lane, Rue de Rivoli, 8 February 2020 © Tristan Werkmeister

One of the main aspects of the project was to build Express Bike Lanes (EBL) on two axes, West-East (from Bois de Boulogne to Bois de Vincennes) and North-South (from Porte d'Aubervilliers to Porte d'Orléans), based on London's cycle superhighways. EBLs are bidirectional and isolated from the bus and car lanes by a concrete divider, therefore protecting their users.


Rue de Rivoli

On Rue de Rivoli, in the 1st arrondissement, the EBL was delivered in September 2019. This portion of the bike lane runs from the Louvre museum until the end of the Tuileries Gardens, at Place de la Concorde. EBLs have the advantage of making users feel safer, as they are separated from motor vehicles. They can potentially be quicker routes since the number of intersections and red lights is much lower. 


"EBLs allow cyclists to be on a protected bike lane," Alexis Frémeaux, president of the charity Mieux se Déplacer à Bicyclette, said. "It's a true revolution for Paris."


Quais Voltaire

On the left bank, the Quais Voltaire have drastically changed: the bus and bike lane became an EBL and a new bus lane was created to the left – the bus stop had to be moved – reducing the number of car lanes from three to two. A Vélib bike rental service station was installed right next to the EBL, allowing cyclists to exit and enter the EBL easily.


Boulevard Saint-Michel

On the North-South EBL, the south portion remains to be constructed. This EBL cuts off before Place du Châtelet, making it impossible for cyclists to cross Paris on this axis without exiting the same bike lane. Not only was the EBL not built on time, but the concrete divider between the car and bus/bike lanes in the North section of the boulevard was removed. Satellite imagery reveals that paint replaced the divider in August 2016.


The prefecture opposed its construction because it feared that emergency vehicles would not intervene as fast. Therefore, the city negotiated an enlargement of the bus lane, and this is why the divider had to be removed.


"The prefecture has a fallacious argument, it's conservative and car culture," Frémeaux said. "The situation isn't satisfactory, Boulevard Saint-Michel needs to be redesigned."

Overview of the Infrastructure

Although “Plan Vélo” is delayed, the construction of bike lanes was fast between 2015 and 2020. A quick comparison of the bike lanes map from 2015 and 2020 highlights delivery of political promises. On the map above, green bike lanes are "satisfactory" while orange ones are "unsatisfactory" according to Observation du Plan Vélo, a charity monitoring the evolution of the bike lanes in Paris. All the grey bike lanes on the map are still to be built.


It is unrealistic to think that "Plan Vélo" will meet its goals on time – 56% of promised bike lanes have been built as of February 2020. Frémeaux takes note of the delays, but remains hopeful.


“It's a very ambitious project in terms of new bike lanes," he said. "There has been a major acceleration of their construction, which offers comfort to cyclists and encourages Parisians to use their bike."

Because of the absence of precise data on the number of Parisian cyclists prior to 2017, a comparison of their number at the beginning and at the end of Hidalgo's mandate is impossible. From 2014 to 2020, bike traffic has been affected by Vélib service degradation (from January 2018 to June 2019) and transport strikes (during December 2019 and January 2020).  Overall, data shows that the number of bike rides is on the rise, from 650,000 in 2010 to 840,000 in 2018.


The transformation of Paris into the "world capital of biking" is going to take a little longer than planned.  On 11 January, Hidalgo announced she was running for re-election, with the ambition of making Paris "100% cyclable" and meeting the bike lane goals set during her current mandate.

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