Obstructing traffic and increasing revenue the priority in two of Europe’s major cities says ABD

A national drivers’ group has claimed that “obstructing traffic and raising revenue from drivers” is taking priority over improving air quality in two of Europe’s biggest cities. The Alliance of British Drivers (ADB) says that Paris’ ‘smog days’ have increased from 5 to 22 per year in the past 4 years, as a direct result of the Parisian Mayor’s anti-car policies. This increase comes despite a Paris Low Emission Zone (ZCR), which operates similar to that of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in London.

Paris now has fewer cars, but the ABD say the emissions have increased due to more congestion caused by cycle lanes, pedestrianisation and 8,000 construction projects. ABD Environment spokesman Paul Biggs said: “It’s well known that increasing congestion increases emissions. This fact seems to have escaped successive London Mayors and the Mayor of Paris, who seem hell-bent on grinding economically essential traffic to a halt – traffic that can’t be replaced by walking and cycling. “This results in a vicious circle of increasingly punitive air quality measures against drivers costing orders of magnitude more than even the claimed benefits. It seems that obstructing traffic and raising revenue from drivers takes priority over improving air quality.” 

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