Earlier this month, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo confirmed that people living in the City of Light (or Love, if you prefer) would be invited to vote on February 24 on a sensitive topic – making parking more expensive for SUV drivers. Here's why it's a great and unbelievably smart initiative. Unless you just bought an SUV to commute to your office in Paris, that is.
Last year, Paris was in the world's top three most congested cities. The average speed was about nine miles per hour. That's half the posted speed limit. Such traffic conditions are horrendous for the local environment because cars emit the most exhaust gases and generate a large amount of brake dust when drivers move slowly from one stoplight to another.
Paris tried to find a solution that didn't imply tearing down historic buildings to add more lanes, and it landed on the Crit'Air sticker. That air quality certificate costs around €4 ($4.4) and helps the authorities automatically identify who must pay extra to drive in certain low-emission zones. When writing, getting it is compulsory in only some cities like Toulouse or Nice.
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