During this time of coronavirus, it’s all the more important we take utmost care of our health. From indoor exercises to eating healthy, this is the time for health, above anything else. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended that ‘whenever feasible, consider riding bicycles or walking.’ This was recommended on April 21 in the new technical guidance on moving around during the coronavirus outbreak. Keeping this in mind, Paris is all set to construct 650 km of post lockdown cycleways. These emergency bike lanes, including pop-up corona cycleways, will be readied or May 11, when the lockdown restrictions are eased in France.
What’s In It?
The WHO guidance states that both cycling and walking are useful for social distancing. These are also great ways to meet the minimum requirement for daily physical activity. Cities across the world have given ample road space to cyclists and pedestrians during the pandemic. People are provided with generous space which is usually allotted to motorists. Paris is the latest global city to join the bandwagon. The city will roll out emergency bike lanes for the use of essential providers during the lockdown. 650km of cycleways which include pop up corona-cycle ways will be constructed for May 11. Earlier, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo promised that every street in the city would be cycle-friendly by 2024. But the fear of the virus spreading rapidly, once the lockdown is eased, has forced the government to take actions quickly.
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Hidalgo mentioned that the space needed to make the city cycle-friendly would come from the expense of motoring. According to her plans, Paris was to remove 72% of its on-street car parking spaces. Last year France had a 46-day transit strike. Many straphangers switched to cycling. This doubled the number of cyclists on the road of Paris. After this strike, few months later there was a 131% year on year rise in the number of cyclists. On April 21, the Île-de-France region promised financial support or the currently existing RER Vélo project. This is a network fo 9 protected cycleways linking Paris with key suburbs. An amount of €300 million will be given as part pay for a mix of new and temporary corona cycleways. Three Keralites Cycle 10,000 km Across 7 Countries For 230 Days From Kerala To Tokyo
What’s More?
Traffic wants will be used to mark out the pop-up cycleways. Valérie Pécresse, president of the Île-de-France, told a French newspaper “The current health crisis forces us to rethink our mobility system. All levers must be pulled so that the easing of lockdown restrictions takes place in the best conditions.” She further stated that the pop-up cycleways will help prevent the complete paralysis of the road network. If there would be a massive shift towards private car. Apart from Paris, 116 towns and cities including Lille, Dijon, Rouen, Le Mans, and St Etienne, plan to construct temporary cycleways. This will be done for the duration of the current lockdown and the next few months. The French government will be publishing new national cycleway guidelines in the coming days. So cycling and walking is the way to go!