All 25 of Paris's Olympic venues are accessible by public transit.
Only five years ago, cars monopolized many streets, but the cycling revolution prevailed, causing a paradigm shift in mobility for Parisians.
The city has prioritized bicycle movement over other modes and built protected bike lanes on most major streets. Subsidies for e-bikes and ample bicycle parking have helped Parisians make several hundred thousand bike trips every day.
Miami is drowning in car traffic, noted by Forbes as the second worst City to Drive in ranked 98.7 out of 100. Drivers spend an average of 105 hours in traffic per year. Roundabouts, synchronized traffic lights, and optimized street design can improve safety and add additional vehicle throughput, but how much will that truly help when Florida has 132 high rises under construction, 90 of which are in Miami. If the status quo of single-occupancy vehicles continues, this will lead to even more hours spent in congestion.
What can we learn from Paris? Bike travel has doubled, car traffic has been reduced by more than 40%, and air pollution and emissions are decreasing. Bike lanes can move more people, allowing for more compact, dense neighborhoods and a reallocation of public right-of-way space for more street trees and wider sidewalks.
Karen Seto, PHD from Yale School of the Environment, notes in the video below that local businesses do better, and people are healthier and happier in pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods. Thanks to Chase Cain for including me in this story. To learn more about what Paris has been working on from the Deputy Mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Grégoire, here is the link: https://www.nbclosangeles.com/paris-2024-summer-olympics/is-paris-the-model-of-how-to-redesign-u-s-cities/3414071/
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