Yahoo News UK tourists face being slapped with £110 charge for entering parts of Paris
Drivers going through areas around many of the most famous landmarks in the French capital Paris are now subject to traffic restrictions. A limited traffic zone, or ZTL, affects an area of 5.5 square kilometers in the first, second, third, and fourth arrondissements, which are home to around 100,00 people and 11,000 businesses.
Vehicular access will be limited to local residents and workers, emergency services, taxis, public transport, people with reduced mobility, and so-called destination traffic, which is vehicles entering the ZTL for a specific reason. The ZTL is part of efforts by Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, to cure congestion problems in the city.
Speaking to Zag Daily, Henk Swarttouw, President of the European Cyclists' Federation, welcomed the move, stating that it could make the city a healthier and safer area to live in. He explained: "The limited traffic zone in Paris is a courageous but necessary step which will lead to reduced pollution, less congestion in the affected areas and in general a healthier and more liveable city centre.
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"LTZs are not about reducing access for people who need to be there, but about banning through traffic which has no destination within the zone. Historic city centres, whether Paris, Rome, Madrid or Amsterdam, were never built for the present level of motorisation through traffic."
The LTZ will be enforced 24 hours a day, and those stopped without a valid destination in Central Paris risk a fine of €135 (around £110). A Paris City Hall promotional video said the ZTL, which covers an area that includes the Louvre art museum and Tuileries gardens, will "lower traffic to be able to reshape mobility and mobility public space in favor of pedestrians, public transport and bicycles".
Ariel Weil, mayor of the city center part of Paris, commented: "The ZTL is an important new step that will be gradually implemented starting with the educational phase. Its effects will combine with those of the traffic plan, with the dual aim of reducing traffic and making it more fluid."
