The city of Paris will leave the choice to its residents to decide the fate of SUVs and other 4x4s by allowing them to vote. Are these vehicles on borrowed time in the capital?
The vote will be held on February 4, 2024, and will leave free choice to all voters registered on the lists to decide on the place of the heaviest SUVs and 4x4s in the city. A democratic consultation, which can be compared to the one held on self-service electric scooters in April. The residents were rather unanimous on this subject, since 90% had voted against maintaining these devices. SUVs remain the favorite category of the French – if we refer to sales of new vehicles – but are also strongly criticized: too heavy, too bulky and too polluting. Will they suffer the same fate as scooters?
Context and issues of the vote
This future consultation will focus on several major aspects related to SUVs: sharing of public space, pollution and safety. In Paris, as throughout France, the average size of vehicles has increased significantly. A phenomenon mainly due to this fashion and the popularity of SUVs, which come straight from the United States. In three decades, the average weight of personal cars has also exploded, increasing by 250 kg. It stands today at 1233 kg, compared to 975 kg in 1990. A new car below the ton mark today (almost) no longer exists, except the Dacia Spring in a pinch, or others. very specific sports cars.
This passion for large cars is not without consequences: greater pollution, increased energy consumption and greater danger for pedestrians. YouTube channel video Car & Engineering« SUV overdose: but where does this madness come from? » perfectly explains this rather alarming observation. The City of Paris does not fail to point out that pollution kills 7,900 people prematurely each year, in Ile-de-France alone.
Terms and details of the vote
The vote will mainly focus on an increase in parking rates for SUVs and 4x4s. Will be concerned: owners of electric vehicles of 2 tonnes or more, those who own a thermal vehicle or a plug-in hybrid of 1.6 tonnes or more, SUVs belonging to Parisian residents or sedentary professionals who exceed the regulatory weight located outside their parking zone and finally, people not living in Paris who own an SUV exceeding the regulatory weight.
Excluded from this measure are: taxi drivers from the moment they park in a dedicated place, residents or sedentary professionals located in their residential parking zones, PMR (People with Reduced Mobility) with the mobility card ” Inclusion-parking”, health professionals and craftsmen eligible for the pro rate, owners of electric vehicles weighing less than 2 tonnes and owners of thermal or plug-in hybrid vehicles weighing less than 1.6 tonnes.
To participate in this consultation, the deadline for registering on the electoral lists is January 8, 2024. The proper conduct of the vote will be held under an independent control commission, chaired by Yves Charpenel, first honorary lawyer at the Court of Cassation . See you in February to find out the results.
Source : Paris
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