Too many cars in Paris

There's too many cars in Paris.
   Even with sidewalks, buses, bikes and subways, there’s too many cars in Paris.  They need to shut off some narrow streets from non-public motor vehicles, widen and extend bicycle lanes, widen sidewalks and/or create pedestrian walkways from the streets, and make some bicycle-only paths or streets. 
   The noise, the smell, and the intrusion of cars is unnecessary and ill served of society. (Our series on Europe beating America continues)

 

Photo by Julie. Yes, we/they do eat outdoors all the time.

Comments

[D. P. Lubic]

The comment about the outdoor cafes reminded me of this sequence from the 1952 film, "April In Paris," with Doris Day. I think you'll smile at 3:20.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLOr8ag9Gqo&feature=related

From the same film, Ray Bolger (as a minor State Department official) imagines how he would be as President:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_He9POEuu4Y&feature=related

The movie may be a piece of fluff, but it's wonderfully pure fun, and Hollywood doesn't do that anymore, no, it has to either be grim as can be, or more bad taste than your stomach can't stand--ugh!

[D. P. Lubic]

There is also this video clip (hope the link works right) from Bombardier, a locomotive and railcar builder; it's a promotional item for their Autorail Grande Capacite (a multi-unit, self-propelled diesel rail car); of note is that like an American commercial, everybody looks too good, including the young fellow in the wheelchair. For red-blooded American males, the star attractions are those pretty French girls (don't tell my wife I said that):

http://www.nationalcorridors.org/df2/df07092007.wmv

[D. P. Lubic]

Semi-off-topic, but perhaps of interest: auto population and gas consumption continue to fall.

http://www.ci.corvallis.or.us/council/mail-archive/mayor/msg36333.html

This is interesting--seems this has been going on for longer than we thought:

http://www.automotivedigest.com/content/displayArticle.aspx?a=67648

Can we say "over-saturated market?"

[D. P. Lubic]

I also post on a California high-speed railroad page--and recently included the post just above. A reader replied from Japan as follows:

"I saw an interesting Japanese talk-show a while back.

"It was basically sort of a “those wacky youngsters” show, where they had a bunch of teens and young-adults talk about what they thought was cool etc, and then a bunch of older people would comment.

"A lot of it was as you might expect, but what I thought was interesting was when they were asked about cars. The basic consensus among the young people was that they didn’t really want a car, that they were more trouble than they’re worth, they could just rent a car if they needed, etc. They weren’t anti-car as such, just not particularly enthusiastic about them. This drove the older participants crazy — they just couldn’t understand why the youngsters didn’t dream of car ownership (“when I was your age, …”).

"This was in Tokyo, where of course it’s easy to live without a car, but the basic impression I was left with was that whereas for a previous generation cars were admired and looked upon as a symbol of modernity, and car-ownership viewed as a sign that one had succeeded, the concept of them as being “cool” has sort of faded by now. They’ve become just a thing you can use if you need to. [I'm generalizing of course!]

"In many places, maybe it wouldn’t matter: if the whole infrastructure of a city and the lifestyle of its population is predicated upon car ownership, people will of course buy them whether they’re cool or not, and the entrenching will continue. Tokyo, however, has never reached that point… and maybe the tide has turned …."

[La Limo Service]

Excellent post I must say.. Simple but yet interesting and engaging.. Keep up the awesome work!

[Tari Ledsome]

The smoke and the noise are very irritating, especially when you are in the most romantic city on Earth. Those things kill the romance. But it's Paris. I bet there are lots places there that have not been invaded by cars yet.

[Junior Perrera]

I've been in Paris before, and I also observed that a lot of cars habitually honk and drive past you. My girlfriend was irritated by that. But being the most romantic city in the world, the place helped calm her down with its romantic ambiance. We would love to come back.

[Limo Service]

Your post is very intriguing. Cars in general could be a problem, especially on narrow side streets, like the ones in Paris. It does take away from the beauty, but unfortunately, some places are not in walking distance. It's almost like a catch 22.

Nice post
-Pam