Paris is to double the number of cycling lanes by 2020 as part of its Socialist mayor's push to turn the city into "the world's bike capital."

    The US$162.5 million project will increase the number of safe bike lanes from the current 700 kilometers to 1,400 kilometers within five years.

    Paris town hall hopes the new lanes will help triple the number of journeys made on a bike from 5 percent to 15 percent in that time.

    The new "express network" for bikes will introduce protected cycling lanes on major avenues throughout the city, including the banks of the Seine, separated from the traffic.

    "We think that there are people ready to cycle but don't do it due to a sense of not being safe," said Christophe Najdovski, Green deputy mayor in charge of transport.

    "This plan will create a new form of tourism in Paris which is booming elsewhere," he said.

    The plans also include increasing the number of two-way cycling lanes on smaller roads where the speed limit for motorists will be limited to 30km/h. Among the new cycle lanes will be one along the notoriously dangerous Champs Elysees. Some 10,000 bike parking spaces will be added.

    City hall intends to ramp up cycling classes and repair workshops to get Parisians on their bikes.

    Paris' famed bike rental scheme "Velib" is going from strength to strength, with some 283,000 subscribers and 40 million individual rentals this year already.

    The city is now considering introducing electric bikes for hillier parts like Montmartre.

    The plans come days after Paris suffered worrying pollutions levels that briefly topped Shanghai, according to one weather agency.

    Words to Learn 相关词汇

    众所周知地

    zhòngsuǒzhōuzhī de

    notoriously

    known widely and usually unfavorably

    增加

    zēngjiā

    ramp up

    increase in volume, amount, or rate

     巴黎计划成为“世界自行车之都”

    隶属社会党的巴黎市长力争将巴黎打造为“世界自行车之都”，其中一项计划是到2020年，巴黎的自行车道长度将是目前的两倍。

    该项目耗资1.625亿美元，计划在五年内将巴黎现有的700公里安全自行车道扩展至1400公里。

    巴黎市政厅希望，届时新增的自行车道将使巴黎市民的自行车出行率在现有基础上增加两倍，由5%增至15%。

    新的自行车“快线网络”将在巴黎城区各主要干道开辟出与道路交通隔离开的安全自行车道，塞纳河沿岸也包括在内。

    “在我们看来，有不少市民想骑自行车出行，但是出于安全方面的担忧而放弃了这一想法。”巴黎市负责交通事务的副市长、绿党成员克里斯多夫 纳杰多维斯基说。

    他表示：“这一计划将开创巴黎新的旅行方式，这种方式在其他地方已经开始蓬勃发展。”

    该计划还包括在一些较窄路段增设双向自行车道。在这些路段行驶的机动车辆时速将限制在30公里每小时。新增自行车道中，还包括一条公认的危险路段——香榭丽大街。巴黎还将新建约1万个自行车停车位。

    市政厅还计划开设自行车课程，增加自行车修理间，鼓励巴黎市民骑车出行。

    巴黎著名的自行车租赁服务“Velib”发展势头日益强劲。今年，“Velib”已拥有注册用户28.3万人，个人租车已达4000万次。

    目前，巴黎正在考虑在蒙马特等多山地区引进电动自行车。

    一家气象机构表示，近期，巴黎的污染级别一度令人担忧，曾一度赶超上海。其后数天，巴黎自行车计划就诞生了。