Paris Really Is Going to Transform the Seine

It’s really happening. On Monday, the elected assembly of Paris voted to permanently ban cars from a 3.3 kilometer (2 mile) stretch of the Right Bank of the River Seine, with a view to turning it into a shaded, grassy promenade and cycle way. Renderings of this beautiful plan have been floating around for some time (and have already been covered by CityLab), but without official approval they always seemed somewhat utopian. Not anymore.

Now the annual summer closure of the Seine quayside to cars is set to go on indefinitely, with the roadway gradually being replaced by bike lanes, benches, and flower beds. Despite the plan’s obvious appeal to the eye, however, the project has only been voted through in the teeth of some remarkably passionate opposition.