Thanks to Plan Velo: Act 2, which plans to invest 250 million euros in the period 2021-2026, Paris wants to become "100% cycle-friendly by 2026". Over the next 5 years, the French capital will expand its cycle routes and add 180 kilometers of new permanent tracks. France has presented a long-term program (from 2023 to 2027) with which it intends to expand the use of the bicycle, multiply the amount of infrastructure dedicated to bicycles and increase the weight of the bicycle industry in your country. In short, €2 billion is expected to be allocated for actions related to this program until 2027.
Last year they had already allocated 250 million euros of expenditure for actions related to the bicycle.
The plan is based on 3 points
- Making cycling accessible to everyone, both young and old
- Turn cycling and walking into an alternative to transport by private car and public transport
- Make cycling an important industrial sector for the country
Most of the budget will go to new cycling infrastructure, but also to subsidies for the purchase of bicycles (even second-hand)
The goal of Paris officials is to make cycling through the city easier and safer. Plan Velo: Act 2 plans to expand the existing cycle paths by a further 130 km, transform the "coronapistes" (built in the midst of the pandemic to limit the capacity of public transport) into permanent cycle paths, develop all the cycle axes in Paris, from metropolitan to regional ones, give continuity to the network developed by the neighboring municipalities, installation of traffic lights, which will give priority to buses, trams and bicycles, and making intersections safe by taking inspiration from models already present in other countries, such as the 'Holland.
in terms of safety, secure parking spaces for bicycles will also be created. Indeed, in 2020, 6.631 complaints of bicycle thefts were registered. An increase of 7% compared to 2019. According to a survey, the fear of being stolen is the main deterrent to using a bicycle. 81% of people who do not choose the bike as a means of transport declare that it is precisely the risk of theft that pushes them towards other means of transport.
