Quote:
Originally Posted by Wallaroo
Berlin is obviously the exception among European cities since it was build primary for cars, and therefore it works out rather well there.
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I don't think Berlin was originally built for cars. Even in the old town, before the destructions of WWII, some main streets were extremely large.
Yet, I agree with you. Berlin is the exception in Europe, not the rule.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wallaroo
It varies a lot from city to city where you would define the city center to begin. I Personally think that a city center usually begins inside of the closest ring road, and so does it Copenhagen and Paris..
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Well, no. Paris and Copenhagen are definitely not comparable. Copenhagen is relatively small and there is one city center. In Paris, there is no "closest" ring road (or do you mean the "boulevards" ? - in which case the entire town should be car-free, yet it is too large for this !)
I think that the only way in Paris is to create several zones in each district which would be car free (as the case for example for the area near the boulevard St-Michel)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wallaroo
Something serious needs to be done in Paris and not just a raising of the parking charges/fines and the close down a few streets. The city is a living car hell and have been for the last 20 years..
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The idea of parking charges is precisely to make the city a living car hell. In addition to the parking charges introduced by Chirac, Delanoe has implemented "bus-only-lanes", which makes traffic for cars even tougher !
Most of the Parisians I know don't have any car. My parents gave up their car when they lived in Paris, now they have three that they live in the country (one for my dad, one for my mom, an old one for visitors who need a car ...)
However, I agree with you : parking charges or bus only lanes are not enough ! And it does make life very hard for the few who stick to their car.
Yet, I would be reluctant to implement the London solution. It seems so extreme ...