what effects on health can result from the speed limit of 50 km/h on the ring road

The city of Paris intends to limit the maximum speed authorized on the ring road to 50 km/h, compared to 70 today, and to reserve a lane for carpooling.

The Paris ring road is used every day by more than a million vehicles and going from a maximum speed of 70 to 50 km/h from September 14, 2024 should make it possible, according to the Paris town hall, to reduce road pollution. air and noise pollution. A study carried out by Airparif last year showed that in Île-de-France, along the main roads, the air is at least twice as polluted as elsewhere and that at least 4,000 Ile-de-France residents live in areas exceeding health hazard thresholds.

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Limiting speed on a road does not automatically reduce environmental pollution. On this point, Ademe, the ecological transition agency, has a nuanced response. It is true that, in general, speed limits can improve safety, reduce fuel consumption and pollutant emissions. Moreover, the change from 80 to 70 km/h on the ring road in 2014 had improved traffic flow, reduced noise pollution, particularly at night, and reduced the number of accidents on this axis by 15%. But be careful, this benefit is not systematic in urban areas.

Beware of traffic jams

The result on air quality is not guaranteed with this speed limit alone since in areas where we drive at less than 70 km/h, and this will therefore be the case, we must ensure that the speed reduction does not create parallel congestion zones during rush hours.

In the case of the Paris ring road, it will be necessary to ensure that the new lane reserved for public transport and carpooling, which will be permanent after the Olympic Games, does not contribute at the same time to reducing traffic flow. In cities, air quality depends as much on the vehicles in circulation as on the fuel used or their age. The existence of other solutions such as public transport must also be taken into account.