The Paris city council is launching a consultation with residents about implementing a low traffic zone or zone apeisée in the centre of the city – a measure that already exists in other European and French cities like Lille and Nantes.

The objective is to drastically reduce traffic in an area comprising the city’s four central arrondissements and part of the 5th, 6th and 7th, by 2022.

This would mean that only “residents, buses, taxis but also artisans, professionals and delivery trucks will be allowed to circulate in this perimeter,” Paris’s deputy mayor David Belliard told Le Parisien newspaper. However, the exact details of who will be allowed to enter the low traffic zone are still to be defined during the consultation. Parisians can participate by answering a questionnaire on the city’s website.

Paris a lancé sa concertation sur le projet de Zone apaisée pour Paris Centre et le nord du boulevard Saint-Germain.

Pour participer, c'est par ici : https://t.co/WIvEd47TdA

Et pour en savoir plus, dérouler 🔽
[1/9] pic.twitter.com/3DonOUkaWS

— David Belliard (@David_Belliard) May 12, 2021

The objective is to “give priority and safety to pedestrians and cyclists, reduce pollution and noise,” Belliard said, adding that the reduction of traffic on the Rue de Rivoli, one of Paris’s main commercial streets which now has been turned into a multi-lane biking highway, “led to a reduction of 2,2 decibels.”

The creation of a low traffic zone fits into Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s broader strategy to reduce air pollution and make Paris a leading cycling capital. It’s also aligned with efforts to reduce the amount of car traffic around schools.

READ ALSO: “It’s not yet Amsterdam”: What Paris must do to be a world leading cycling capital

When the first 3-month coronavirus lockdown ended a year ago, Paris city officials created 50 kilometers of coronapistes (coronavirus cycle lanes). The move was initially temporary, but Mayor Anne Hidalgo later announced she would make them permanent in the autumn.