Authorities in the French capital, Paris, say the city centre is going car-free for the first Sunday of every month to help improve air quality and share public spaces more fairly according to an Independent report.
The move, which is part of the French capital’s Paris Respire initiative, spearheaded by Mayor Anne Hidalgo will start on 7th October though it is already in place in several parts of the city.
The ban will not cover the entire city but the motive is laudable.
The car-free city concept has gained momentum in 13 cities in countries like Norway, China, Germany and now France. A car-free city or car free city is a population center that relies primarily on public transport, walking, or cycling for transport within the urban area.
The goal first and foremost is to reduce traffic and congestion in city centers like the Central Business District (CBD) in Accra.
The second reason for the car-free movement is the environment. Urban planners and policy makers around the world have started to brainstorm ways that cities can create more space for pedestrians and lower CO2 emissions from diesel and petrol powered engines. Norway has confirmed that it will phase out diesel and gas-powered cars nationwide by 2025.
In Spain, city authorities in Madrid plan to ban cars from 500 acres of its city center by 2020, with urban planners redesigning 24 of the city’s busiest streets for walking rather than driving.
The initiative is part of the city’s “sustainable mobility plan,” which aims to reduce daily car usage from 29% to 23%. Drivers who ignore the new regulations will pay a fine of at least $100. And the most polluting cars will pay more to park.
These moves are not only brilliant but they are a solution to a very pressing problem in our city center right here in Accra.
Earlier this year, the president bemoaned traffic jams in the city saying “Traffic jams and overcrowding are making our capital unattractive. There are certain inconveniences that people adjust to, traffic jams are not one of them”.
The Accra Metropolitan Authority cannot start with an outright ban but city authorities can use the strategy Oslo’s City Council used when they faced resistance from businesses.
Instead of kicking out cars, Oslo’s council said in June 2017 that it will just make it harder for them to get there by ban parking spaces.
The AMA should find ways of discouraging drivers from going to the CBD especially. It is the heart of the city and the most congested place in the city too.
By turning the Rawlings Park into something rather more useful and creating car parks some acres away from the central business district, we can encourage developers to put up state of the art shopping complexes that will make it easier for shoppers and businesses without the nuisance of cars and traffic jams.
