The city of Paris could be on the verge of banning “off-road” vehicles from its streets in an effort to reduce traffic congestion.
According to The Guardian newspaper, the rule could be in place if the city’s police chief decides to back a resolution adopted by the city council.
Denis Baupin, a Green party councillor who tabled the resolution, is quoted as saying: “Off-road vehicles are just not suited to towns and you have to wonder why people drive them. They are polluters, they’re space-occupiers, they are dangerous for pedestrians and other road users; they are a caricature of a car.”
Under the proposals, the newspaper reports, sports utility vehicles (SUVs) could be banned from the city centre during busy periods, with their owners being denied parking permits.
The resolution states: “These vehicles emit almost four times as much carbon dioxide as more environmentally friendly cars. Some consume up to 24 litres of petrol per 100km on an urban traffic cycle. At a time when dwindling oil resources are generating conflicts and price hikes, that is totally irresponsible.”
The Guardian quotes a British survey that found just one in eight SUV owners have used their vehicle off-road, while six in 10 never take them out of urban areas.
Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad
