Everything except a scoop: the COJO Paris 2024 likes formulas. He distributes them without holding back, proud of his discoveries and convinced of their impact. Just over seven months before the opening of the Games, the presentation to the media of the transport plan for the Olympic and Paralympic Games gave it the opportunity to add two new ones to its list. They deserve the top of the page.
The first formula summarizes the casting deployed for the media exercise, with no less than sixteen people gathered around the table or by videoconference, representing all the players in the file: the French transport team. Not less. The OCOG suggested it as a preamble, before reserving it with relish later in the morning.
The Transport Blues. Bold for a subject around which union is struggling to form, the last few weeks having been marked by muscular exchanges between the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, the president of the Ile-de-France region, Valérie Pécresse, and the minister of Transport, Clément Beaune.
The other formula of the day: the COJO Paris 2024 and its “ French transport team " promise to organize next year the “ first cycling games in history“. An Olympic and Paralympic meeting where it will be possible, at least on paper, to go to the sites, all the sites, by getting on your bicycle. Possible and even recommended, the COJO having elevated the use of “ soft mobility"
Really? According to the figures deployed by everyone, the answer is positive. At the 2024 Paris Games, cycling will not only be an Olympic sport. It promises to be a must-see of the event, for the public but also for those accredited.
The land, first. Lanes reserved for bicycles, already in place and soberly named cycle paths, or created for the occasion and prettily named “ Olympians », promise to be massive.
The city of Paris has 440 kilometers of cycle paths, plus 60 km of Olympians. The Ile-de-France region totals 415 km, including 120 being finalized and 60 km to be built. The Seine-Saint-Denis department already has 275 km. He plans to add 15 km of Olympians to this network. Work will begin in February, for delivery in May.
Not bad. Better yet: all competition sites will be accessible by bike on reserved lanes. The transport system plans to facilitate cycle traffic in the most dangerous areas, including Porte de la Chapelle in the north of Paris and the Stade de France and Olympic Aquatic Center district, in Seine-Seine-Denis. A footbridge is planned between these two competition sites.
The material now. The city of Paris announced it to the media: the Vélib’ fleet, these paid bicycles that have been part of the Parisian scene since 2007, will number 22.000 units at the time of the Games. To this, it will be necessary to add 18 to 25.000 self-service bicycles, with municipal authorities currently holding discussions with private operators.
The parking lot, finally. The self-proclaimed French transport team has done its homework. In Paris, 10.000 new parking spaces for bicycles will be installed for the Games in the immediate vicinity of the competition sites. They will be added to the 100.000 already existing in the capital.
In Seine-Saint-Denis, the addition of 1.500 parking spaces near the Stade de France and the Olympic Aquatic Center was announced. Finally, the COJO and its public partners plan to install temporary Vélib’ stations near the Olympic sites. A formula tested last fall during the Rugby World Cup in France.
