CITYLAB
By Helene Bauer
Paris has inaugurated its first bike highway. Opening last May, the 0.5-milestretch of freshly paved road alongside the Bassin de l’Arsenal is part of the Réseau express vélo (“REVe”), an initiative to build fast-track bike lanes free of motorized vehicles. It’s only the first section of the soon-to-be 28-mile network of bike highways that will cross the city by 2020.
In 2015, the city voted unanimously to spend €150 million ($164.5 million) on expanding and improving its biking infrastructure, including REVe (which translates to “dream” in French). Cyclists will benefit from more bike-friendly rules—including the freedom to turn without waiting for a green light at every intersection—as well as new bike stands and two-way bike lanes on one-way streets.
Sandrine Gbaguidi, a local biking blogger, rarely leaves home without her bike, using it to run errands, get to work, or just find a nearby park. But that wasn’t always the case. When Gbaguidi moved to Paris from Dakar six years ago, she first used public transit to get around because she was too afraid to bike. She bought a bike after three years in Paris—and, as she feared, there was a steep learning curve. “You’re constantly on your guard and annoyed or irritated,” says Gbaguidi. “Biking is supposed to be fun and relaxing.”
Gbaguidi’s initial fears are not unique. In 2014, bikes amounted for only 5 percent of daily traffic in the city, accounting for about 225,000 trips. Although that number is growing annually, it still doesn’t compare to the 15.5 million daily trips by car, tallied in 2012. Meanwhile, other European cities like Copenhagen and Amsterdam report 55 and 43 percent, respectively, of their daily traffic happening on bikes.
Charles Maguin, president and co-founder of Paris en Selle, a biking association, says one reason people don’t bike in France’s capital is that they don’t feel safe competing with motorized vehicles on the road. Paris en Selle was founded in 2015 when Maguin noted the lack of biking groups advocating for the cyclist’s safety in terms of laws and infrastructure. “Parisians would rather take the Metro for a short commute than bike to work,” says Maguin.