Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Mayor of Paris removed parking spaces, reduced the number of cars

cnn.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

251–260 of 392 posts

Re: Mayor of Paris removed parking spaces, reduced the number of cars

#251

Post by thrance »

rapht wrote: post #73

This article omits so many negatives from the "cyclist's paradise" vision of Hidalgo's 2 terms that I don't know where to start. Families are the first casualties: the Paris metro is nowhere near accessible to strollers except if you are willing to go to the chiropractor after each week end, and using your car - hell, even parking your family car - is a no go as soon as there is some kind of hipster sports event or j…

Only 30% of Parisians drive in the city. There are real accessibility issues, but cars are probably the worst solution. We could add elevators to more metro stations, or improve bus service, etc. But having a car in the city and parking it is a costly provilege that not many can enjoy. Also cars are super bad for public health, noise pollution and the environment.

> Local parks and generally streets are so dirty that you have to wash your children from head to toe as soon as they have set foot outside.

That's an insane hyperbole.

> And I'm not even talking about used seringes and broken glass in certain parts of the city.

Not my experience, at all.

Re: Mayor of Paris removed parking spaces, reduced the number of cars

#252

Post by KaiserPro »

mrtksn wrote: post #168
goldenarm wrote: post #20

I moved from LA to Paris, my mental and physical health improved dramatically. I don't even take the subway, walking and biking are enough where I live. Hopefully we can reach the comfort of dutch cities within a decade.

What do you think about all those videos on how dangerous Paris is? Having made the move, would you say that those stem from real experiences and are organic or would you say that it was an organized campaign for some political reason? Or maybe something else? Trump keeps saying that they want to prevent USA becoming a dangerous place like Europe, even said that recently and the Irish president disagreed with him. As…

> What do you think about all those videos on how dangerous Paris is?

The question to ask is why those videos are being made.

Paris, as other people have pointed out, has a much lower homicide rate than big US cities.

However for pickpocketing, paris is notorious. But getting actual stats that are comparable is difficult.

Re: Mayor of Paris removed parking spaces, reduced the number of cars

#253

Post by thrance »

dwedge wrote: post #143
black_puppydog wrote: post #131

People keep saying Hidalgo's policies made people angry, but then voter turnout when she actually asks for confirmation of her policies is low. For example, 2024's vote on whether to triple the parking fees for big SUVs. [1] Turnout was tiny, but the measure passed. Well what does that mean? It certainly doesn't mean that there is a huge wave of enthusiasm for the measure. But conversely it also means there's not a h…

Measures like this always seem unfair to me if they aren't announced a few years in advance. A car is a large investment and people may have made different choices knowing that the rules will change. Same with the tax per mile for Electric cars in the UK. Instead of encouraging motorists to make better choices, they just end up feeling part of a money grab

Hidalgo has been very clear about her plans for Paris for many years now, and people are still in favor of them. People shouldn't feel entitled to driving their oversized trucks in and out of our city, when we have such a dense and efficient network of public transit that doesn't make everyone else's lives worse through noise and pollution.

Re: Mayor of Paris removed parking spaces, reduced the number of cars

#254

Post by KaiserPro »

gus_massa wrote: post #158
Tade0 wrote: post #79

> “She is constantly criticized, but still reelected: I’ve never understood it,” says Lionel Pradal, a bistro owner on the bustling Rue des Martyrs. “Parisians never go out and vote, and then after they complain. This is the problem with French people, it’s always the same.” This is somewhat of a public secret, but few people ever stay in Paris for longer than say 10 years and thus aren't that attached to the city. I…

> Parisians never go out and vote, and then after they complain. Wikipedia says that 70% of the people voted. Is it mandatory there? Here in Argentina it's mandatory, but weakly enforced. We get also a 70% of people voting. Anyway, the big problem are bubbles, probably all the friends of the guy don't like the current mayor and complain.

> Is it mandatory there?

No, its the french being _very_ french. Politics is still a sport there, with a plethora of teams playing.

Re: Mayor of Paris removed parking spaces, reduced the number of cars

#255

Post by drnick1 »

frnx wrote: post #9
hshdhdhj4444 wrote: post #2

This article has such a weird framing. It keeps repeating how the cleaner air is so good for tourists. But tourists visiting Paris for a week don’t get the majority of the benefit from cleaner air. The Parisian residents living there throughout the year do. Maybe because it’s CNN, an American outlet, they’re focused on the “tourist”, but these benefits have mostly accrued to Parisians. Also, the 4% increase in traffi…

The new large cycling strips that appeared in the last 5-6 years are so good. At commute time there are frequently jammed with /cyclists/, but let's face it it's miles better than being stuck in a car. I shudder to think about the alternative where each cyclist was instead alone in a small car, this wouldn't even fit on the roads.

> At commute time there are frequently jammed with /cyclists/, but let's face it it's miles better than being stuck in a car.

Cycling is wonderful, except when it rains, when it's cold, when it's hot, when it's windy, or when you want to carry stuff. So it's not a practical solution 80% of the year.

Re: Mayor of Paris removed parking spaces, reduced the number of cars

#256

Post by financetechbro »

tw-20260303-001 wrote: post #240
david-gpu wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a pedestrian, I would rather risk a crash with a cyclist than with a car.

As a pedestrian I would hope that those cyclists remember when they’re pedestrians too. Both can kill you easily. But cars don’t sneak up on you silent from behind when you’re on a sidewalk.

Unless they’re EVs tho right

Re: Mayor of Paris removed parking spaces, reduced the number of cars

#257

Post by throw-the-towel »

frnx wrote: post #9
hshdhdhj4444 wrote: post #2

This article has such a weird framing. It keeps repeating how the cleaner air is so good for tourists. But tourists visiting Paris for a week don’t get the majority of the benefit from cleaner air. The Parisian residents living there throughout the year do. Maybe because it’s CNN, an American outlet, they’re focused on the “tourist”, but these benefits have mostly accrued to Parisians. Also, the 4% increase in traffi…

The new large cycling strips that appeared in the last 5-6 years are so good. At commute time there are frequently jammed with /cyclists/, but let's face it it's miles better than being stuck in a car. I shudder to think about the alternative where each cyclist was instead alone in a small car, this wouldn't even fit on the roads.

Well IDK, as a pedestrian in Paris I hate cyclists way more than I hate cars. Cycling in the Netherlands is wonderful; here, it might well have been a mistake.

Re: Mayor of Paris removed parking spaces, reduced the number of cars

#258

Post by bluGill »

alamortsubite wrote: post #225
zahlman wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It certainly helps the buses move more efficiently, but it can't do much about things like bus stop placement, or just generally sense of place as you start or end your trip.

> it can't do much about things like bus stop placement Why not? Fewer cars means more room for bus stops.

car centric areas put their front door far from anyplace a but can easilly get. Either the but slows everyone else down because it is going in and out of all these parking lots and cul-de-sacs, or the walk from the but stop to where you are going is already your entire travel budget.

Re: Mayor of Paris removed parking spaces, reduced the number of cars

#259

Post by thrance »

tw-20260303-001 wrote: post #240
david-gpu wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a pedestrian, I would rather risk a crash with a cyclist than with a car.

As a pedestrian I would hope that those cyclists remember when they’re pedestrians too. Both can kill you easily. But cars don’t sneak up on you silent from behind when you’re on a sidewalk.

> Both can kill you easily.

What a ridiculous statement. Motorized vehicles are involved in the vast majority of road casualties. You are much, much more likely to die from a car accident than a bike accident.

Re: Mayor of Paris removed parking spaces, reduced the number of cars

#260

Post by bluGill »

enriquto wrote: post #201
dwedge wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Motorists are an easy scapegoat but without alternatives it's just political handwaving. And most people are motorists. Take my city for example. I work in an office block around a 15 minute walk from the centre, which has free parking for employees. Monday this week the city announced that the land is now paid parking to the city effective immediately . When it was pointed out they they hadn't provided any of the ne…

> the city announced that the land is now paid parking to the city what a strange way to put it... why didn't they just say that they are not using any more taxpayer money to finance your parking space? Land in a city is not "for free". > It's very easy to call another group entitled if you're not one of them yeah, well: my point, exactly!

You miss the larger point not mentioned: all those motorists will be mad and looking to vote for someone next election that will undo it all.
Post reply on HN