5 ms·

In Paris the idea is to make the city more hostile to cars (any car, your private car, taxis, ubers) by reducing the number of roads they are allowed onto. The

by bambax 10y ago

In Paris the idea is to make the city more hostile to cars (any car, your private car, taxis, ubers) by reducing the number of roads they are allowed onto. The city voted yesterday to close the main road through the city ("quais rive droite") after the equivalent road in the other way ("quais rive gauche") had been closed 3 years ago. I think London is thinking of doing the same (plans to close Oxford Street?) How it will end is a mystery to me; not everyone is comfortable using public transportation (esp. the elderly). In London the subway is kind of okay... in Paris it's horrible.

m_t 10y ago
> In London the subway is kind of okay... in Paris it's horrible. Having commuted in both London and in Paris, I would say it is quite hard to make this kind of statement. When comparing my commute on the Northern Line to my old one on Line 2 and 1 in Paris, I can definitely say it was better in Paris. And I'm sure that someone who could compare commuting on Line 13 versus, say, the Victoria Line, would have a very different opinion.
collyw 10y ago
I was in Rome recently and they seem to do something similar. It makes for a lot more pleasant city when you have so much less traffic and the associated noise.
dx034 10y ago
Yes, London is planning to close Oxford street, it just has to figure out how buses can be redirected in a smart way to allow shoppers to get there easily. Furthermore, one of the busiest intersections (bank) will be closed to all vehicles but buses from next year on. The fact that it will even be closed to black cabs is a strong signal. In addition to that there are also plans to revert some of the 70's car-friendly areas in the city. Mainly roads that were designed to be one-way to ease traffic flow will be made less car-friendly. This is supposed to slow down traffic which should make it safer for cyclists and pedestrians. ("The one-way system encourages high traffic speeds, which is at odds with the City's aspiration for safer streets within the Square Mile.") [0] I'm not aware that there is any project in London at the moment that will ease congestion, it's all about making life for pedestrians and cyclists easier. As a cyclist, I really welcome that trend. The new cycle-superhighways [1] are a great thing, IMO. [0] Project 48: https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/map-of-2018-road-projects-onwards https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-proje... [1] https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/cycling/routes-and-maps/cycle-superhighways https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/cycling/routes-and-maps/cycle-super...
WalterBright 10y ago
Congestion in an inner city can reach a point where fiddling with the lights won't accomplish anything. But in moderate traffic areas, big improvements should be possible and practical. After all, once an adaptive system is created, it could be installed on most intersections. I keep thinking of adaptive car fuel injection systems that Ford uses. It's so adaptable that they're pulled off of 90's Mustangs and installed on Mopar V8's from the early 70's, despite being a completely different engine with different firing order, etc., and people have reported great results.
webjunkie 10y ago
I never understood the interior layout of subways in Paris... they have seats positioned right at the door, where people would stand normally. It seemed to me like everyone was always stepping on each others toes, and on each stop the whole train was shuffeling around for people to get in and out.
- m_t 10y ago
  That's because those seats are supposed to not be used when there's too many people.
- bambax 10y ago
  This will be hard to believe but it's true: for years and years, the Paris subway authority considered that people would not accept to "be transported laterally", which means seats HAD to be either facing the front or the back of the train, NOT the side. It still goes on today; some of the newer trains now have a few seats facing the side, but that's as far as they'll go. This thinking, based on absolutely zero evidence but deeply ingrained, wastes an incredible amount of space aboard subway trains.

by bambax 10y ago

m_t 10y ago

> In London the subway is kind of okay... in Paris it's horrible. Having commuted in both London and in Paris, I would say it is quite hard to make this kind of statement. When comparing my commute on the Northern Line to my old one on Line 2 and 1 in Paris, I can definitely say it was better in Paris. And I'm sure that someone who could compare commuting on Line 13 versus, say, the Victoria Line, would have a very different opinion.

collyw 10y ago

I was in Rome recently and they seem to do something similar. It makes for a lot more pleasant city when you have so much less traffic and the associated noise.

dx034 10y ago

Yes, London is planning to close Oxford street, it just has to figure out how buses can be redirected in a smart way to allow shoppers to get there easily. Furthermore, one of the busiest intersections (bank) will be closed to all vehicles but buses from next year on. The fact that it will even be closed to black cabs is a strong signal. In addition to that there are also plans to revert some of the 70's car-friendly areas in the city. Mainly roads that were designed to be one-way to ease traffic flow will be made less car-friendly. This is supposed to slow down traffic which should make it safer for cyclists and pedestrians. ("The one-way system encourages high traffic speeds, which is at odds with the City's aspiration for safer streets within the Square Mile.") [0] I'm not aware that there is any project in London at the moment that will ease congestion, it's all about making life for pedestrians and cyclists easier. As a cyclist, I really welcome that trend. The new cycle-superhighways [1] are a great thing, IMO. [0] Project 48: https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/map-of-2018-road-projects-onwards https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-proje... [1] https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/cycling/routes-and-maps/cycle-superhighways https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/cycling/routes-and-maps/cycle-super...

WalterBright 10y ago

Congestion in an inner city can reach a point where fiddling with the lights won't accomplish anything. But in moderate traffic areas, big improvements should be possible and practical. After all, once an adaptive system is created, it could be installed on most intersections. I keep thinking of adaptive car fuel injection systems that Ford uses. It's so adaptable that they're pulled off of 90's Mustangs and installed on Mopar V8's from the early 70's, despite being a completely different engine with different firing order, etc., and people have reported great results.

webjunkie 10y ago

I never understood the interior layout of subways in Paris... they have seats positioned right at the door, where people would stand normally. It seemed to me like everyone was always stepping on each others toes, and on each stop the whole train was shuffeling around for people to get in and out.

m_t 10y ago
That's because those seats are supposed to not be used when there's too many people.
bambax 10y ago
This will be hard to believe but it's true: for years and years, the Paris subway authority considered that people would not accept to "be transported laterally", which means seats HAD to be either facing the front or the back of the train, NOT the side. It still goes on today; some of the newer trains now have a few seats facing the side, but that's as far as they'll go. This thinking, based on absolutely zero evidence but deeply ingrained, wastes an incredible amount of space aboard subway trains.