Meanwhile: I love Paris on anything but a car

[LSK]

PARIS: What Paris has dones right is to make it awful to get around by car, and awfully easy to get around by public transport or by bike.

snip

So Mayor Bertrand Delanoë, a Socialist, vowed on coming to office in 2001 to reduce car traffic by 40 percent by 2020.

He's serious about it. I live near the Boulevard St. Michel, and two years ago the city laid down a granite divider strip between the bus-only lane and the cars, squeezing private cars from three lanes to two. Taxis and bicycles were allowed to use the bus lane.

At the same time, every bus stop was newly equipped with a screen which told you how long the wait was for your bus. During rush hour, when the cars stand still along Boul' Mich, there's nothing better than zooming past them in your bus.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/07/25/opinion/edserge.php

[SoFlaJet]

1. Damn I thought it was a Paris Hilton story

we all need help

[LSK]

5. I did too when I first came upon the story

Dont know whether to laugh or cry about that.

[cynatnite]

2. Well, I fell in love with Paris back in the late 80s and never got over it...

I can think of nothing bad to say about it. Beautiful place that I hope to see again.

[BlueJazz]

3. That's way it should be. A frightening number of Americans equate...

...Self-Worth, Popularity, Dominance and Hipness with their Automobile.

[LSK]

4. delete

[Swamp Rat]

6. I wish I was in Paris right now.

:cry:

[TahitiNut]

8. How gauche!

:silly:

((Where's my beret?))

[Swamp Rat]

10. How jejune!

:D

[TahitiNut]

7. I became an 'expert' driver by driving rush hour across Paris many times.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is a challenge not exceeded except perhpas in Rome. To negotiate L'Etoile, the Champs Elysees, the Place de la Concorde, and Boulevard Hausman in a Renault Quatre during rush hour is better than any ride at the State Fair.

Of special merit is the opportunity to be the FIRST person to form the third lane of traffic in the rush direction on a four-lane boulevard, steering into oncoming traffic and seeing the approaching cars move to their right - and then look in the rear-view and see many dozens of Frenchmen following! It's the moment I became a true Parisian!

[cynatnite]

9. I'd let you drive me

:)

First time I saw it I wondered how on earth anyone could navigate it. There was an upside down VW just off to the side on the second day of our visit.

[TahitiNut]

11. It makes a VERY strange kind of sense, actually.

Priorite a droit. (Just keep looking left.) It's one of my VERY favorite memories of visiting France: learning to actually survive (and then thrive) in what looks like complete madness. I only got in one scrape in over 3 months of driving the city ... and it was someone scraping my left rear bumper when I was totally not at fault in the Place de la Concorde. L'Etoile is a matter of calibration on how far inwards one gets before escaping the merry-go-round. The REALLY aggressive drivers ... go... all... the... way.
:rofl:

What most Americans would regard as 'agressive' driving doesn't even approach what the slowest driver in Paris must do. It's like Dodge-Em cars without actually colliding. An amazing experience.

[flying rabbit]

13. We drove a rent a car from Germany to Paris

After locating our hotel the driver decided "I am not driving in this fucking town anymore". No one else would either. We found a parking garage and took the Metro for the rest of our stay.

[TahitiNut]

14. Le Metro is really the way to go. I had to have a car since I was staying ...

... in Aulnay sous Bois, which is a suburb near Le Bourget northeast of Paris. Three-and-a-half months there, eating in Paris restaurants every night and many weekends ... even THAT gets old after a while.

I *LOVED* Le Metro ... it was a joy to use it.

[Marr]

12. For public transit, London is fantastic.

The system is simple to understand, and expands into the outlying regions in a sensible way. Even the ride is fun, because the cars are full of British people.

I thought the public transit in France was, better than here of course, but confusing as hell in comparison to London. They've got a couple of different lines merged or something. Beautiful city though.