Mezentine: Is there actually less outrage in Paris when something like this is proposed compared to the US, or are there parts of the government that are empowered to make and implement these decisions despite opposition?

"Paris has closed more than 100 streets to motor vehicles, tripled parking fees for SUVs, removed roughly 50,000 parking spots, and constructed more than 1,300 kilometers of bike lanes since Mayor Anne Hidalgo took office in 2014. Those changes have contributed to a 40% decline in air pollution."

What does a city that has spurned cars look like? Olympics visitors to Paris will get a lookwww.nbcnews.com Changes designed to encourage people to take other forms of transportation have contributed to a 40% decline in air pollution, according to city officials.

A question I would genuinely appreciate someone helping me answer is why the civil planning in Paris is capable of executing this when no city in America could even get any of this through the proposal stage

Is there actually less outrage in Paris when something like this is proposed compared to the US, or are there parts of the government that are empowered to make and implement these decisions despite opposition?

My opinion is that the switch away from cars mostly concerns downtown Paris, which is densely populated and has has a strong and old mass transit system. It's easier to switch away from cars when most people already take the metro anyway.

The suburbs of Paris are a more mixed bag, with okay-ish mass transit that remains quite patchy (and patchier bike lanes), which means that there's still quite some car dependence.

I also think that some of it is COVID. In 2020, taking the metro became risky and bikes suddenly were the healthiest way to move around. Paris, some of its suburbs and other French cities managed to push for the creation of "coronapistes", temporary bike lanes which later became permanent.

its probably a mix of things. culturally its normal to walk or bike, there isnt the same level of car lobbying, and the cities are built on walkable foundations. lot harder to turn a city as spaced out as many american cities into something walkable

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