Anyone who soon enters Paris with a heavy all-terrain vehicle may have to take into account a very expensive bill at the parking meter. On Sunday, Parisians will vote in a referendum on tripling parking fees for cars that take up a lot of space.
Following in the footsteps of the United States, the SUV is on the rise in Europe. Experts speak of ‘car obesity’: our cars are becoming heavier and larger. It ensures that emissions from fuel cars hardly drop, while parking pressure increases, especially in city centers.
“It’s a scandal,” says Paris councilor David Belliard about the rise of the SUV. “They are polluting, take up a lot of space and are life-threatening,” he sums up at the radio station RMC.
The city council of Paris therefore wants to impose significant costs on the owners of SUVs. The proposal: cars weighing more than 1,600 kilos will from now on pay a three times higher parking rate, of a maximum of 18 euros per hour. A higher weight limit of 2,000 kilos applies to electric cars to take the heavy batteries into account.
The higher parking rate would not apply to Parisians who park their own SUV in front of the door. But they do pay more if they go shopping in another district with their big box.
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Low turnout at previous referendum
Residents can go to the polls on Sunday to give their opinion on the proposal. The prospects seem favorable: in one poll 62 percent are in favor of the plan.
The question remains how many voters will show up. In an earlier referendum on banning electric shared scooters, only 8 percent of eligible voters showed up. 89 percent of them voted in favor of banning scooters and scooters, which have now disappeared from the streets.
The SUV tax fits into the broader plan of Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who is trying to turn Paris into a real cycling city. The plan is possible according to the green politician generate 35 million euros in tax revenue annually, which can be used for sustainable plans.
Message to car manufacturers
According to Hidalgo and environmental groups, the higher parking fee should also be seen as a message to car manufacturers, who would make their models bigger for profit. “The laws of the market should not take precedence over health, safety and the climate,” say the green faction in the Paris city council.
According to motoring associations, the plan is “a punishment for families”. They also point out that car manufacturers produce few alternative options for large families.
“This uprising against SUVs is a prelude to the eradication of all cars,” the group said 40 million motorists.
Amsterdam is also considering an SUV tax
Paris is not the first city with a higher parking fee for SUVs. Lyon in France and Tübingen in Germany previously took a similar measure.
Amsterdam traffic councilor Melanie van der Horst also said yes last year NRC that it is following these developments with interest. “We are going to investigate whether this could also be done in Amsterdam.”
However, for the time being it does not appear that there will be a tax for ‘PC Hoofttractors’. A spokesperson for Van der Horst says that it is probably not possible to introduce such a measure without supporting national policy.
2024-02-04 03:56:05
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