Same here. I'm pleasantly surprised when I try a new itinerary, and now it's mostly bike lanes. Even 5 years ago, it was 50/50 whether there was a proper separated bike lane you could use.
I also remember 20 years ago, when a car was a normal way to move around in Paris. It hasn't been the case for several years for me now.
Around 2019/2020, something important happened: the critical mass for bicycle infrastructure was crossed, and nearly overnight a lot of people started cycling (no doubt helped by 2019 strikes and 2020 covid lanes). Since then, bicycles are a common sight everywhere.
"used to be"? When is that? There are lots of very interesting old stories about rule bending in Nascar. Actually, it apparently started from the very first official Nascar race [1].
If you want racing series about driving civilian cars fast, they do exist. Nascar just isn't one of them. The only one I really heard about is "Stock Miata" racing, but I'm sure there are other series using stock street cars, or at least having the exact same cars for all competitors.
This article leaves a lot of details out. As a Parisian who's been following this with attention, here are a few details:
* first, the "SUV" part is the intent, but not the reality. It's actually by weight: over 1600kg for ICE and 2000kg for electric/hybrids. A lot of French SUVs fit under those restrictions (for example Peugeot 2008/3008). It's unclear to me if there is really something specific to target those SUVs as well (I have not read the full text)
* part of the issue is width rather than weight: cars become larger and no longer fit in the parking spots. Parking spots minimum width in Paris is 180cm. For example, a Porsche Cayenne (a typical SUV) is 198cm without mirrors, 219cm with mirrors deployed. Being at least 20cm outside of the parking spot is an issue, roads are narrow.
* this is only for paid surface parking for non-residents. Residents price is not impacted (which is controversial). Underground parking is private and not affected. Free parking (outside of 8AM to 8PM Monday to Saturday) stays free for everyone.
* In general, underground parking is cheaper than surface parking even at the normal price. This will likely push those cars underground, which is IMO a good thing (especially because of the width issue).
* this vote is controversial in the first place (much like the rental scooters one was recently): the result was expected: it doesn't really affect negatively Parisians, only outsiders, and is strictly a QoL improvements for Parisians. I'm actually surprised it's not a landslide, but I guess the people who went to vote are generally more likely to have a car and vote against because of that.
* there were other questions asked for specific arrondissement. Those were important as well.
Edit: of those questions, only one arrondissement rejected its question (8th, which is also one of the least favorable over the poll). Those questions were mainly around reclaiming space from cars to allocate to pedestrians/cyclists/green spaces.
To be fair, the sentiment was "it will be a landslide in favour" (like the electric scooters). It indeed wasn't, but still went in the expected way.
People visiting Paris were not polled, only Parisians were, that's why I only explained this point of view. But yes it does benefit everyone that doesn't visit Paris in a SUV.
Note that it also impacts Parisians with a SUV when they are parking outside of their resident zones (a resident parking permit allows you to park in 4 zones around your home).
If only parisians were polled doea that not mke this the dwfinition of nimby bs? This isnt necessarily a terrible idea, just a terrible, punitive attack on an unfashionable vehicle type. This would be much better if they charged b^ the foot or something rather than having 2 categories with such a large cost difference
> this is only for paid surface parking for non-residents. Residents price is not impacted (which is controversial). Underground parking is private and not affected. Free parking (outside of 8AM to 8PM Monday to Saturday) stays free for everyone.
If my end goal was to apply this to everyone at some point, I would probably start with such a restricted law, then extend it step by step later.
The news makes people focus on this particular vote, but it's just yet another small step in the multitude of other steps to curb car use in Paris.
It started at least 10 years ago (current mayor that really pushes the issue was elected in 2014, I'm not sure it's the actual starting point), and we saw:
* bike lanes. Lots of bike lanes. Generally replacing traffic lanes and parking spots.
* several pedestrians zones replacing traffic lanes (especially in front of schools).
* Crit'air restrictions (car pollution rating, derived from Euro rating). You cannot drive a polluting car in Paris anymore.
* reduction of the speed limit from 50km/h to 30km/h in Paris, and from 80km/h to 70km/h on the Périphérique (highway circling Paris)
* there is no longer any always-free surface parking spot, and price has been raised a lot
In my country the car registration document has the weight number but not the width number. I suspect in France it's the same, and that's the reason they went by weight instead of width – it's easier to administer that way.
It’s interesting that new legislation is baking in the idea that more “sustainable” cars can weigh a lot more. Disappointing that this means we won’t tackle the other externalities of personal motorised transport including size, safety and visibility issues, wear on public infrastructure, and sheer amount of extra material people use to get themselves around.
I think the idea is that batteries can make the car more dense. Their concern was larger vehicles not fitting in parking spaces, allowing more weight in an EV makes sense in that case.
It is interesting that they went with weight as a proxy for size though. I expect the process for charging by weight or dimensions would come down to a list of oversized vehicle models, why abstract it a layer rather than a max width/length?
This terrifies me as well. The workaround is to write the WHERE clause before the SET clause. If you inadvertently submit the query partway, it will be invalid and it's not a big deal.
If you have to use TSQL like me, you can use BEGIN/ROLLBACK TRAN with an OUTPUT clause to easily confirm, then just change it to COMMIT. I actually like this workflow quite a lot
It's not only in the Netherlands, but in the European Union, as this stems from the GDPR.
That particular principle of data minimization regarding cameras filming public space seems to be mostly enforced in Spain, according to https://www.enforcementtracker.com/ (search for "camera")
Depending on how it's broken, sometime you'll be able to glue plastic parts together (it was recommended to me to use the gel super-glue, not the regular one).
Another interesting material is two part epoxy (like JB Weld). You can even make small parts out of it, for example redo a broken clip on a bigger plastic piece.
Due to owning and repairing a 20yo car with lots of brittle plastics, I've had to expand my plastic-repair skillset, and it's way deeper than you'd initially assume.
Since there is no question, I guess the OP wants to find some inspiration? Anyway here goes:
- gaming. Since I was a child, I've been gaming. I don't consider it as a "productive" hobby, but it's one nevertheless. It's almost an addiction, so I try to not have all my free time filled by that.
- wrenching on cars. That's my current main hobby. I've bought my first car (I didn't own one before) specifically to have one I could go as far as I'd want without the responsibility of breaking someone else's car. Though I do minor repairs/maintenance for friends and family. On my own car, the most complicated/time-consuming jobs I did so far was a suspension overhaul (including rebuilding struts towers with new shocks) and changing the gearbox.
- track days. It's an aspiring hobby. I can't currently own a track car (parking spots are too expensive where I live), so instead I do the next best thing: paying for "track experiences" and doing a few laps on track-ready cars. I've done 2 so far, planning a 3rd, and really want to own a track car at some point.
The other hobbies are past hobbies I've wound down because I'm not that interested in that anymore:
- cocktail mixing. I have a full-size bar at my home (that could be put regular bars to shame) so I can mix anything I want. I used to be more socially active and try new cocktails every week but now I only do one every few months, generally from my list.
- bartending. I used to do bartending in a non-profit bar for a few hours each week.
- electronics. A friend got me into it, I dabbled with Arduinos, Raspberry Pi and have lots of parts that got gifted by that friend. Nowadays, I use those skills for appliances repairs and car repairs.
- woodworking. This was very short, as I do not enjoy it that much, just don't have lots of needs nor the space to do that, but a lot of my furniture is home-made, out of pallets I found on the streets (I got help from a more experienced friend luckily). That includes the aforementioned bar and sizeable wood chests to store the electronics and miscellaneous tools.
My current passion is to maintain and fix cars. No modification because very little is allowed in my country and I keep the budget super tight.
I started about a year ago. Prior to starting I had never owned a car or done any sort of mechanic task. My first oil change was on a friend's car before I actually owned a car (getting to his place with a jack, jackstands and other tools in a rental mechanic bike was an experience in itself).
Getting into that hobby was a key factor in my battle with depression. While I've not recovered my pre-covid energy, I'm in a much better place.
Since then, I've done minor operations on 5 cars, and lots of things, including non-trivial operations (suspension overhaul, gearbox replacement) on the car I bought to be my "test dummy" (though it's by no means a beater, I bought it running and driving, it's just 20 years old with a fair mileage).
I would definitely recommend that hobby, especially if you already own a car and have a space to do it (living in an appartment, I had neither and still figured it out)
I also started a Youtube channel of filming myself doing those operations, but I'm not that passionate about it. I'm still on the fence of whether to stop or continue it. While I'm proud of it, it's a time sink and the few bad comments (it's the internet after all) leave a bitter taste.
Tell us more, how did you do it while living in an apartment? What is your YT channel? I’m interested in it but also live in an apartment with no garage space where I could do it or any car tools. So tell!
For example, on BMW Minis, which all have timing chains:
- 1st gens Minis (2002 -> 2006 roughly), with Chrysler engines, have a bulletproof engine, and replacing the timing chain is a rare occurrence
- 2nd gens Mini (2007 -> 2013 roughly) with PSA engines modified by BMW have a suicidal engines, especially the pre-LCI (2007 -> 2009) engines, that are known to often break timing chain guides. The symptom for that is named "death rattle", which is chain slap.
- 3nd gens Mini (2014 -> 2022 roughly) with BMW engines are so far known to be pretty bulletproof. Note that some of them now have high mileage with no large-scale issues.
So a well-designed engine with a timing chain is preferable to a timing belt. But a timing belt is preferable to a problematic engine with a timing chain, which will break at the most inconvenient time and leave you with an unexpected large bill.
While I have not visited the US extensively, I was very surprised when in California at how respectful drivers were with pedestrians, not just stopping for them, but stopping a few meters before the crossings.
Krakow was good as well, but not to that extent.
In France, overall the rural part is pretty respectful, and the bigger the city, the worst it is (in Paris and Marseille, it's not great).
The absolute worst city I've been to in that regard was Naples, were motorists will not stop at crossings unless you actively step in their way.
So yeah, a lot of answers are going to vary drastically depending on what's the driving culture there. Universally motorists will stop at lights, because of that harsh possible consequences of running a light (getting T-boned), but stopping for pedestrians at crossings vary widly.
I also remember 20 years ago, when a car was a normal way to move around in Paris. It hasn't been the case for several years for me now.
Around 2019/2020, something important happened: the critical mass for bicycle infrastructure was crossed, and nearly overnight a lot of people started cycling (no doubt helped by 2019 strikes and 2020 covid lanes). Since then, bicycles are a common sight everywhere.