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It's official, Montmartre Hill will soon be pedestrian-only!

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The Editor

© Audrius Venclova / Shutterstock

Removal of parking spaces, limited traffic, reduced speed—Paris has just announced a huge pedestrian zone at the top of Montmartre Hill, around the Sacré-Cœur. This measure is part of the ongoing battle against cars that Anne Hidalgo has been leading for several years now.

«It's just like what we're doing all over the capital», explains David Belliard, Deputy (The Ecologists) at the Paris City Hall in charge of transportation. The goal of this new measure is simple: to continue freeing the capital from cars, making it a greener and especially more pleasant place to live. To achieve this, the City is not holding back and plans for the removal of several hundred parking spaces, along with a massive greenery initiative at the top of the butte Montmartre. Let us explain.


A well-regulated traffic system

For a few weeks now, numerous signs have appeared near the Sacré-Cœur Basilica. Blue squares represent pedestrians. They are accompanied by the notes "Parking inter.Slow down and "Roll at a walking pace". Messages that couldn't be clearer for drivers: all transit traffic will now be prohibited in the neighborhood.

Indeed, the City of Paris has just established a brand new area that isn't closed off by barriers, where everything is designed to deter motorists. Already, all the parking spaces on the affected streets, nearly 300, have been removed or will definitely be in the upcoming weeks. Additionally, only traffic related to dropping off people or goods is now allowed. Finally, all motor vehicles must drive at a crawl, around 6 km/h.

This setup is similar to the limited traffic zone (ZTL) recently introduced in the city center. From now on, it’s impossible to simply pass through the area without purpose or to stop for a long time. The only exception to this...

The rule, people with reduced mobility (PRM), since all the dedicated spaces (about a dozen) have been kept.


A change that's a bit tricky to adapt to daily life

To ease the transition, the City of Paris has announced that the various navigation systems should soon take this new pedestrian zone into account, to provide suitable routes. Alternative parking options will also be suggested along the car-free area. It's an interesting measure, though perhaps a bit unnecessary since there won't be any barriers closing off the neighborhood, and only a few occasional checks will be carried out.

This decision, which sounds great on paper, doesn't make everyone happy, especially the locals who feel a bit left out. This is the case for Dominique, interviewed by Le Parisien, who...

He shares his worries every time he goes away for the weekend, fearing that he won't find a place to park when he returns home. This perspective needs a bit of nuance when it's known that, according to the latest surveys, 70% of the residents in the area don't even own a car.

On the rest of the hill, a speed limit of 20 km/h will also be put in place to continue these efforts. Similarly, 8 sections of street, including the bottom of the legendary Rue Lepic, will be permanently closed to cars, this time with the installation of barriers. A breath of fresh air that should delight the tourists who flock to the area every day.