Paris Helps Cut Smog Almost in Half with First Car-Free Day
While people around the world are become more environmentally conscious, Paris is truly taking eco-friendly matters into its own hands. The City of Romance recently held its first-ever “day without cars” on September 27th as part of an effort to help clean up the city’s air quality. During this day, the 30% of the city’s roads were off-limits to vehicles.
Even though the area in which cars were not allowed was small, Paris managed to cut down pollution—and noise—levels significantly. According to The Guardian, these car-free parts of Paris registered 40% less nitrogen dioxide, the chemical composition that produces smog. On Avenue des Champs-Élysées—the city’s busiest and most used street— alone, nitrogen dioxide levels were cut by 30%.
As Paris continues to struggle with terribly smoggy air, the city’s mayor, Anne Hidalgo, is looking to introduce more car-free days in the future. She’s started a Twitter campaign to introduce her ideas to the public:
Paris accompagne concrètement les Parisiens dans la lutte contre la pollution : http://t.co/D9MWJ2hR4g pic.twitter.com/GF3v2tMobJ
— Anne Hidalgo (@Anne_Hidalgo) October 3, 2015
She is also looking to eliminate the use of diesel fuel in the city:
La lutte contre le diesel est un sujet majeur pour Paris. Je le redis : mon objectif est d’éradiquer ce carburant nocif, dans notre ville.
— Anne Hidalgo (@Anne_Hidalgo) October 3, 2015
“My goal is to eradicate this harmful fuel in our city.”
And to crack down on the amount of cigarette butts that limit Parisian streets:
A #Paris, jeter un mégot dans la rue coûte désormais 68€ : http://t.co/M0uUyGrAOA (via @RTLFrance) pic.twitter.com/csaj3EbT1v
— Anne Hidalgo (@Anne_Hidalgo) October 1, 2015
For the next car-free day, Hidalgo is hoping to encompass an even larger section of the city, eventually making this eco-friendly measure a monthly event.
News Source: The Guardian
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