Paris set a 19-mph citywide speed limit to try to convince drivers to ditch their cars

A speed limit road sign is pictured in a street, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021 in Paris as the speed limit on nearly all streets of the French capital is just 30 kph (less than 19 mph). It's the latest initiative by a city trying to burnish its climate credentials and transform people's relationship to their vehicles. City officials say it's also aimed at reducing accidents and making Paris more pedestrian-friendly. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

AP Photo/Francois Mori

• Authorities in Paris set 19-mph speed limits on nearly all the city's roads on Monday.
• The measure was taken in an effort to reduce pollution and car usage around the city, CNN reported.
• Bicycle lanes and sidewalks will also be increased to encourage alternative methods of transit.
• See more stories on Insider's business page.

Authorities in Paris set 19-mph speed limits on nearly all the city's roads in an effort to reduce pollution and improve road safety, CNN reported on Tuesday.

The bid to lessen the presence of cars in France's capital city also includes the termination of 60,000 of Paris' 144,000 parking spots on public roads, the report said, as well as widening sidewalks and installing new bicycle lanes.

The concept of the speed limits is to make driving less appealing, convincing more Parisians to walk or use public transit.

A poll by the Parisian City Hall showed 59% of residents support the new measures, which were enacted on Monday, though opposition was higher in the Greater Paris area at 61%.

City Hall officials cited a World Health Organization study in saying that the change would reduce road accidents by 25% and fatal accidents by 40%, the report said.

Officials also estimated that noise pollution would decline.

Some, however, aren't convinced. As it is, the city already experiences notoriously bad summer holiday traffic jams.

"With deliveries, it's terrible. We don't have time. I was in traffic jams everywhere. We don't have time," one delivery driver stuck in traffic told CNN affiliate BFMTV.

Another driver called the rule "crazy" and said cars were going as slow as electric scooters.

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