7 ms·

Paris to harm its middle class as only the wealthy can afford a parking space anymore.

aminozuur 6y ago
I think they merely want to optimize their city for pedestrians rather than car drivers. Having lived in 'walkable' European cities, I can vouch for them, and I think it benefits the vast majority of people living there.
foepys 6y ago
Were you ever in Paris? There is public transport literally everywhere.
- ekianjo 6y ago
  Yeah, and most of it lacks proper support such as escalators, elevators - long flights of stairs are not for everyone. Accessibility matters.
  - stdbrouw 6y ago
    Accessibility matters, that's true, but last I checked private cars aren't that great if you're in a wheelchair either.
    - hartator 6y ago
      You can literally drive your car in a wheelchair.
      - officeplant 6y ago
        Had a BoyScout leader who was wheelchair bound with a car modified to be driven with only hands. It was a pretty fun learning experience when he let us take it around the parking lot a few times. I'm lucky enough to have a decent job in a fairly rural area and a cheap car that I can easily maintain. At one point I was even a car enthusiast that liked doing modifications. I still think society as a whole should be progressing towards a carless future. Although I'd appreciate it if VR tech was advanced enough to let me drive around in virtual classic cars by that point with feel and smell.
  - Scoundreller 6y ago
    The general advice I’ve heard to anyone needing accessible access is to move out of Paris for at least the next few hundred years. Transit isn’t the only issue.
  - wooger 6y ago
    It's not worth shitting up the entire (and old) mass transit system to enable a tiny number of people to use it - I'd support subsidised taxis for people unable to use the metro.
    - bluGill 6y ago
      you need to remodel anyway, or things get old and break. If you are not upgrading regularly anyway because of this you have a problem.
stdbrouw 6y ago
Conversely one might think of free parking spaces as a subsidy for the middle class and up, at the expense of those who can't afford a car. Public transport in Paris is wonderful, and while there are parts where I still would rather not bike around, cyclist safety is getting much better too. The city is simply adapting to other modes of transport that are better for everyone.
- tasogare 6y ago
  > Public transport in Paris is wonderful Only someone who never lived in Paris more than two days could ever write this sentence. Paris’ subway is one of the worst in the world (often on strike, technical problems, stink piss, expensive, unsecure especially for ladies, no accessibility, etc.) When I had choice to take sub for 40 min or walk 40 min to go to the same place, I took walking every time because of how bad public transportation are in Paris.
  - stdbrouw 6y ago
    Well, I don't live there anymore but did a couple of years ago, and definitely for more than two days. If anything bothered me about the subway, it was the extreme overcrowding during rush hour. If you had that much trouble with strikes and technical problems either you were extremely unlucky, or I was extremely fortunate. Definitely cheaper than owning a car, too. Can't comment on accessibility. (There's also buses and bike shares, by the way.)
  - Miraste 6y ago
    I haven't used a lot of subway systems, but worst in the world seems excessive. It's vastly better than NYC or London, at the very least. Breathing in the London Underground turns your mucus black. Exciting!
- jmnicolas 6y ago
  > Public transport in Paris is wonderful We probably don't have the same sense of wonderful. It's overcrowded, unsafe and the metro smells horrible. Now yes, you can live there without owning a car, but I don't call that wonderful.
gquiniou 6y ago
Only 34% of households own a car in Paris.

I think they merely want to optimize their city for pedestrians rather than car drivers. Having lived in 'walkable' European cities, I can vouch for them, and I think it benefits the vast majority of people living there.

foepys 6y ago

Were you ever in Paris? There is public transport literally everywhere.

ekianjo 6y ago
Yeah, and most of it lacks proper support such as escalators, elevators - long flights of stairs are not for everyone. Accessibility matters.
- stdbrouw 6y ago
  Accessibility matters, that's true, but last I checked private cars aren't that great if you're in a wheelchair either.
  - hartator 6y ago
    You can literally drive your car in a wheelchair.
    - officeplant 6y ago
      Had a BoyScout leader who was wheelchair bound with a car modified to be driven with only hands. It was a pretty fun learning experience when he let us take it around the parking lot a few times. I'm lucky enough to have a decent job in a fairly rural area and a cheap car that I can easily maintain. At one point I was even a car enthusiast that liked doing modifications. I still think society as a whole should be progressing towards a carless future. Although I'd appreciate it if VR tech was advanced enough to let me drive around in virtual classic cars by that point with feel and smell.
- Scoundreller 6y ago
  The general advice I’ve heard to anyone needing accessible access is to move out of Paris for at least the next few hundred years. Transit isn’t the only issue.
- wooger 6y ago
  It's not worth shitting up the entire (and old) mass transit system to enable a tiny number of people to use it - I'd support subsidised taxis for people unable to use the metro.
  - bluGill 6y ago
    you need to remodel anyway, or things get old and break. If you are not upgrading regularly anyway because of this you have a problem.

stdbrouw 6y ago

Conversely one might think of free parking spaces as a subsidy for the middle class and up, at the expense of those who can't afford a car. Public transport in Paris is wonderful, and while there are parts where I still would rather not bike around, cyclist safety is getting much better too. The city is simply adapting to other modes of transport that are better for everyone.

tasogare 6y ago
> Public transport in Paris is wonderful Only someone who never lived in Paris more than two days could ever write this sentence. Paris’ subway is one of the worst in the world (often on strike, technical problems, stink piss, expensive, unsecure especially for ladies, no accessibility, etc.) When I had choice to take sub for 40 min or walk 40 min to go to the same place, I took walking every time because of how bad public transportation are in Paris.
- stdbrouw 6y ago
  Well, I don't live there anymore but did a couple of years ago, and definitely for more than two days. If anything bothered me about the subway, it was the extreme overcrowding during rush hour. If you had that much trouble with strikes and technical problems either you were extremely unlucky, or I was extremely fortunate. Definitely cheaper than owning a car, too. Can't comment on accessibility. (There's also buses and bike shares, by the way.)
- Miraste 6y ago
  I haven't used a lot of subway systems, but worst in the world seems excessive. It's vastly better than NYC or London, at the very least. Breathing in the London Underground turns your mucus black. Exciting!
jmnicolas 6y ago
> Public transport in Paris is wonderful We probably don't have the same sense of wonderful. It's overcrowded, unsafe and the metro smells horrible. Now yes, you can live there without owning a car, but I don't call that wonderful.

gquiniou 6y ago

Only 34% of households own a car in Paris.