Paris will create 30 km of additional cycle paths as part of the 2024 Olympic Games. The remaining 30 km will be shared with the neighboring departments which will have competition sites, and especially Seine-Saint-Denis.
After the Covid pandemic, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games should be a good accelerator for the use of bicycles in Paris. The city of Paris has just unveiled, on February 14, the different axes of its cycling strategy for the Olympics.
New cycle paths, bicycle parking lots and additional Vélib’ are planned between now and the opening of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Up to 60 km of additional cycle paths will be created to connect the various competition sites, mainly in Paris and Seine-Saint-Denis.
30 km of tracks in Paris which will be preserved
The City of Paris has planned the development of 30 km of cycle paths to connect the various Olympic sites. These new tracks will connect the center of Paris to the Parc des Princes, the Porte de la Chapelle and its new Arena, the Stade de France and many other competition sites.
These new facilities will complement the current network. On the other hand, certain sectors of the capital will still not see any improvement on the occasion of the Paris Olympics, it will still be necessary to wait a few more years. These are essentially major axes that are planned for this occasion.
These cycle paths will be permanent facilities, which the Paris City Hall will keep as a legacy of the Olympic Games.
25 additional km in Seine-Saint-Denis
The department of Seine-Saint-Denis has a strong ambition to develop the cycle network on its territory. The 342 km of departmental roads will be covered. 130 km have already been completed and an additional 25 km will appear as part of the deserted sites of the Olympic Games.
Additional bicycle parking spaces
Still with a view to encouraging bicycle travel during the competition period, the City of Paris will set up 10,000 parking points for bicycles around the Olympic sites. Unlike the trails that will be kept, the parking lots will only be installed temporarily on these sites.
Once the Olympic Games are over, the bike racks from the competition sites will be redistributed and installed in sports centres, schools and municipal facilities in Paris.
Seine-Saint-Denis also provides additional bicycle parking, especially around the Stade de France. Nearly 3,000 bike racks should become permanent around the Stade de France.
No more Vélib’ and renewed bicycles
The operator Vélib’ has made a commitment with the city of Paris to buy 15,000 new bicycles. This should make it possible to renew a large part of the current bicycle fleet and to add more than 3,000 more, i.e. 20% more Velib’, on the occasion of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
However, it has not been specified whether the new bikes will be electric bikes or classic bikes.
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