Europe 1 with AFP 9:22 p.m., February 14, 2023
About 55 km of new cycle paths, including 30 initially scheduled later, will be developed by July 2024 to connect the sites of the Paris Olympic Games and Seine-Saint-Denis, local elected officials from the town hall announced on Tuesday. from Paris
Cycling to the sites of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games (JOP) events should be possible.
On the Jacques-Chirac quay, in front of the Eiffel Tower, or on the Carrousel bridge, in front of the Louvre, tracks "dressed in the colors of the Olympic Games, especially in the 500m around the sites" will arise in the capital, announced David Belliard , the EELV assistant for mobility of PS mayor Anne Hidalgo, during a press conference.
Of "60 km of Olympians who will allow us to connect all the sites by bike" in intramural Paris, "30 km are now completed or in progress", he specified.
The other half was already planned as part of the Bike Plan, for which the City has provided 250 million over a six-year term, but will be delivered "accelerated" for the Games.
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Tracks then made permanent
In Seine-Saint-Denis, "25 additional km will be made" for the Games, expanding an already existing network of 130 km, announced the president (PS) of the departmental council, Stéphane Troussel.
Like revegetation and swimming in the Seine, the Olympians "will be legacies" of an event "accelerating the transformations of our city", insisted Anne Hidalgo.
"Two years ago, the idea of going to the sites of the Olympic Games by bike was more of a dream than a reality", greeted Camille Hanuise, director of Paris en Selle, who spoke on behalf of the associations of cyclists present.
All the tracks temporarily fitted out for the Games will then be made permanent, like that of Boulevard Beaumarchais, near Bastille, assured David Belliard, promising to respect an "aesthetic doctrine".
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Bike racks
Between reinforced concrete slides and yellow plastic bollards, opponents under the keyword #SaccageParis ardently criticized the 50 km of "coronapists", these temporary facilities born during the health crisis.
To promote the use of "Olympists" by Ile-de-France residents and visitors alike, bicycle racks will be installed near competition sites (Stade de France, Roland-Garros, Champ-de-Mars, etc.) in order to offer 10,000 parking spaces, added David Belliard.
These racks will then be reused elsewhere.
The Plaine Commune intermunicipal structure, of which Saint-Denis is the center, intends to develop "3,000 permanent secure bicycle parking spaces on two poles around the Stade de France", details a joint press release.
The Vélib' self-service bicycle system should see its fleet increase by 3,000 vehicles for the same deadline.