Transport in Paris: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 11:57, 30 December 2005

Revision as of 12:07, 30 December 2005

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==Streets and Thoroughfares==

Paris is well-known for the non-uniformity of its map. This seemingly haphazard arrangement of streets, alleys, squares, boulevards, avenues and more recent freewaysavenues is a result of a superimposition of one street plan upon an earlier other: a first network of streets was basically formed by the built-up areas around the main thoroughfares and places of trade, a second formed when land surrounding these was divided and sold for building (usually in a series of long and narrow parallel strips extending to both sides of a plot of land reserved for a street). Very rarely was a street planned in advance.

As with the birth of most agglomerations, a first network of streets was formed by the built-up areas around paths, roadways and places of trade, and a second formed when land surrounding these was divided and sold for building - in the French tradition, a plot of land was usually divided in a series of long and narrow parallel plots extending to both sides of a central lateral strip reserved for a passage across it. Very rarely was a street planned in advance.

A few exceptions aside, Paris' growth remained true to this schema (for over eight hundred years!) until the mid-19th century city renovations by the [[Baron Haussmann]] laid waste to entire quarters to make way for a network of new Boulevards and Avenues that make much of Paris today. Many of the city's winding and narrow streets still remain, but one must search through the quarters behind the Avenues to find them.

A few exceptions aside, Paris' growth remained true to this schema (for over eight hundred years!) until the mid-19th century city renovations by the [[Baron Haussmann]] laid waste to entire quarters to make way for a network of new Boulevards and Avenues that make much of [[Paris]] today. Many of the city's winding and narrow streets still remain, but one must search through the quarters behind the Avenues to find them.

The 1970's City-limit-hugging circular [[Périphérique]] expressway was the first real change since the above, as were narrow "expressways" along the quays of the [[Seine]] river and a few inner-city underground passages. It is not the map of the streets that is changing most these days, but the streets themselves: A recent movement towards prioritising Public Transportation systems and eliminating "through-city" traffic has created barricaded bus/taxi/cyclist alleys, narrowing the passages reserved for automobiles and delivery vehicles. Although lightening circulation within the city itself, this tendency is a source of heavy congestion to the Capital's gateway thoroughfares.