Episode Summary
- People in big cities (Europe and North America) want pedestrian friendly, public spaces. And they've proved that people want them by making this pattern of development impact their choices in the voting booths.
- People use it. The turn out and participation (granted it was summer) is a clear indication to residents and business owners that making room for lower velocity activities can improve the local economy and increase resident happiness.
- Starting small and getting quick wins has been key. This allows both mayors to point to previous successes as they continue to go after more ambitious goals.
Links To Sources
On Sunday, Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris was car free. (2 min read)
This summer, 13 streets in Montreal have been designated to be mostly or fully car free 24 hour a day. (7 min vid)
Design your own street scape.
Outside the Episode
The Avenue will continue to be closed one Sunday per month for pedestrians use.
From early spring till the end of October pedestrians can enjoy multiple streets being closed through out Montreal. The image above is of Ontario Street.
I can't go without mentioning my hometown (Kalamazoo, MI) which pioneered closing streets and creating pedestrians malls. Above is a picture of the mall in 1959.
Above is the mall today, continuing it's pedestrian first pattern.
Transcript
Hey everybody it's Kyle. During the week I wonder, what's going on in the world of urban planning, architecture, and development? What keeps happening, do I recognize any patterns. I share that stuff here, see what comes out the other side, and wonder what can we learn?
This week we've got a bit of a theme.
2 very similar things are happening on either side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Paris and Montreal's mayors are making pedestrian first thinking part of their platform and they're not just talking. They are doing.
We'll start with Paris where, on Sunday, Champs-Elysees avenue was car free.
That's right the famed tree lined boulevard had 0 cars and was covered with pedestrians. This is part of the Paris Mayor's Ann Hidalgo platform where she was recently re-elected back in June, for her 2nd term.
As mayor, Hidalgo has pushed to reduce car use in the capital and boost biking. She has reduced lanes and speed limits, closing off dozens of streets to cars completely. In her latest campaign, she has proposed transforming 60,000 roadside parking spaces into cycling lanes.
With the victory it seems that Parisans are interested in seeing this happen and the attendance at the car free Champs-Elysses day provides social proof...if you didn't believe the ballot box, or maybe you just think it's a bunch of hippies....people came OUT and took advantage of great weather and the ability to stroll up and down the famous street.
This car free day is part of a larger vision to turn the champs into an extraordinary garden.
Helping with the project since 2018 is the Champs-Élysées committee, a local group that exists to develop the area.
The group announced that the "mythical avenue has lost its splendour over the past thirty years" and that its renovation will be "one of the flagship urban projects of this decade".
Usually you see projects like the extraordinary garden make headlines then you never hear anything. Mayor Hidalgo is doing a great job with tactical urbanism, getting that quick win to then continue spring board her and the committees efforts.
Across the pond to Montreal, another female mayor, Valerie Plante,
And a quick aside first female mayor for both cities. I love it.
Plante won over voters on a promise to improve public transit (including a new Metro line), alleviate traffic woes and make the city more family friendly.
This summer 13 streets in Montreal have been designated to be mostly or fully car free 24 hour a day.
The program started during 2020 and was expanded in 2021. This effort was led by small businesses. They were excited to have more space for pedestrians, willing to sacrifice parking in an effort to maintain or expand their dinning room capacity at marginal cost.
It of course makes sense, if you have people hanging out in front of your restaurant, they're more likely to buy that next meal.... that next dessert.
Last up - if you're looking to consider experimenting with your own street scapes or need a way to help community members visualize potential changes check out the tool: street mix @ streetmix.net. There you'll find and interactive webpage where you can tinker with the size of the street and add additional amenities at scale.
This brings us to our 3 key lessons.
Montreal and Paris...or maybe I should say Mayors Hidalgo and Plante are teaching us the following:
- People in big cities (Europe and North America) want pedestrian friendly, public spaces. And they've proved that people want them by making this pattern of development impact their choices in the voting booths.
- People use it. The turn out and participation (granted it was summer) is a clear indication to residents and business owners that making room for lower velocity activities can improve the local economy and increase resident happiness.
- Starting small and getting quick wins has been key. This allows both mayors to point to previous successes as they continue to go after more ambitious goals.
That's all for this week...and I'll talk to y'all soon.
