As Deputy Mayor David Belliard of Europe Ecologie-Les Verts (EELV) aptly notes, cycling in Paris has transcended mere trendiness; it’s become a fundamental aspect of the city’s identity. Despite challenges like inclement weather, cyclists continue to flock to the streets, setting new attendance records and reshaping the urban landscape in the process.
Paris cycling numbers double in one year thanks to massive investment
If you build it, they will come.
It always irks me when I speak with city planners who say they can’t build out cycling infrastructure because there aren’t enough cyclists.
Can you tell me how many cars are on undeveloped land with no roads? Yeah, same reason.
Paris, along with other cities who have invested in cycling infrastructure, have found out that cyclists actually do use it! And seeing more cyclists on safe infrastructure encourages other people to become cyclists!
accessibility for the disabled (this one is actually pretty fair, but it’s also very hard to fix)
Edit, PS: the lack of public toilets is also a fair complaint. It’s also a pretty common one, even in New York and London. Amsterdam comes to mind as a decent counter-example, at least for men. There are urinals strewn about most everywhere in the city.
I think the only place with a good amount of public toilets I’ve been in is Luxemburg.
Your third bullet point goes both ways. I’ve seen french people trying to speak french in a US national park and getting annoyed nobody understands them.
Added note: I’m also rarely actively looking for public restrooms. So I could be very mistaken. The public restrooms are usually ( unfortunately) filthy AF. People can be such animals sometime :(
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