(Updated with results §3)
by Gilles Guillaume
PARIS, (Reuters) – Parisians voted on Sunday in favor of a town hall proposal aimed at keeping large SUVs off the streets by significantly raising parking rates for this type of vehicle, an initiative which once again raises the question of the place of the car in the city.
Following the model of the vote which resulted last year in the ban on self-service scooters, residents had to answer the question: “For or against the creation of a specific rate for the parking of heavy individual cars, bulky, polluting.”
According to the results communicated by the town hall, 54.5% of voters voted in favor. The participation rate stood at less than 5.7%.
“For ten years, the place of the individual car has diminished in Paris due to a proactive policy of the municipality. At the same time, the average size and weight of vehicles have continued to increase due to exponential development of SUVs”, explained Paris City Hall ahead of the consultation.
“The proposal made to Parisians is to create a special rate for large vehicles to limit their presence in the city and the nuisance they generate.”
The socialist municipality also argues that due to their size, SUVs are more dangerous for pedestrians and that in the event of a collision, accidents are twice as fatal as with a “standard car”.
Originally derived from an all-terrain vehicle, an SUV now refers to any raised sedan.
Given that this is not an official name, the town hall has used the mass as a criterion – 1.6 tonnes or more for a petrol, diesel or hybrid car, and two tonnes or more for an electric car, always much heavier than its thermal equivalent.
The City of Paris is proposing a tripling of visitor parking rates for the vehicles concerned, which would bring the bill to 18 euros per hour in the central districts.
“WE ARE NOT AMERICANS!”
The choice of mass, and not of silhouette, also allows us not to penalize a type of car which now represents 44% of new car sales in France. The SUV has been fashionable for several years for its design, its high driving position and its easy access on board.
The weight of the vehicle will be checked by reading the license plate. Regarding the current “overweight” of cars, manufacturers regularly explain that they continue to chase weight to reduce energy and material consumption, but that they also have to carry an increasing number of vehicles. security equipment.
“The best-selling SUVs in France are small cars, we are not Americans!” declares Philippe Nozière, president of the motorists’ defense association 40 million motorists, in a press release.
As proof, he cites the fact that most SUVs circulating in Paris are much smaller and lighter than a Ford F-150, the best-selling car in the United States and the archetype of the imposing SUV-pick-up with more than two meters wide and five meters long.
The PFA (Plateforme de la filière automobile), which represents French car manufacturers, declined to comment.
Based on the weight used, 892,336 vehicles would potentially be affected by the measure, according to AAA Data, a number from which those for whom the measure will not apply must however be removed: motorists benefiting from the resident rate and those who have a private parking space. (Report by Gilles Guillaume, edited by Sophie Louet and Jean-Stéphane Brosse)
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