Champs-Elysees Will be Car-Free Once a Month to Help Cut Paris Air Pollution

The most famous and prestigious boulevard in Paris, the Champs-Elysees, will prohibit cars once a month. The program is designed to help cut the city's smog problems.

Starting this May, cars are banned from the Champs-Elysees boulevard in Paris, where the landmark Arc de Triomphe is located. The car-free day will be on the first Sunday of every month, as stated by the Paris city hall.

However, the first pedestrian-only day in Champs-Elysees will be effective on May 8, the second Sunday of the month. The exception was made because the first Sunday of May is France's International Workers' Day, so the workers needed to run the scheme will be off work.

From the next month, cars will be prohibited to enter the two-kilometre-long street on the first Sunday of every month. According to The Guardian, that's also when museums in Paris are free to the public to enter. The boulevard itself is close to some museums including the Petit Palais, Grand Palais, and Palais de la Découverte.

The car-free program was initiated to help cut the smog problems in the French capital. On March last year, the country's landmark the Eiffel Tower disappeared in smog, leading the city leaders to think of a way to cut the smog. The World Health Organization also warned that air pollution is responsible for about 42,000 deaths in France every year.

The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, has since introduced some plans to cut smog and provide cleaner air. In 2014, she suggested that no diesel cars from before 2011 could drive in Paris' streets in 2020. Also, when the Eiffel Tower was shrouded in smog in 2015, the city offers free rides with the subway and buses to reduce cars, as reported by DR.

In addition to Champs-Elysees, nine other new routes will also apply the pedestrian-only program. The other routes will be pedestrianized every Sunday and during public holidays, as reported by ABC. Previously, there are already 13 routes with traffic restrictions under the "Paris Respire" program to cut air pollution.

The Paris' boulevard of Champs-Elysees will apply a pedestrian-only program on the first Sunday of every month. The program was designed to help cut air pollution in the city, as the mayor made the issue one of her top priorities. The program will start as soon as next month. 

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Paris, Program, Pedestrian, CAR, pollution, Smog, mayor, WHO, Air, City

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