The mayor of Paris continues with the plan to give the Champs-Élysées a green make-up of $ 305 million

The mayor of Paris continues with the plan to give the Champs-Élysées a green make-up of $ 305 million

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Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has confirmed that ambitious plans to transform the Champs-Élysées, the iconic avenue in the heart of the French capital, in Paris, are still on the table. Her initiative will see the avenue with fewer car lanes, more space for pedestrians and much more green.

The Champs-Élysées, often called ‘the most beautiful avenue in the world’, has run for three decades without major refurbishment, and many Parisians believe it looks tired and much less sophisticated than before.

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An artist’s impression of the redesigned Arc de Triomphe, at the end of the iconic Champs-Élysées avenue in Paris, prepared by architects PCA-Stream commissioned by the mayor’s office in Paris.

PCA current


The avenue used to be home to heavy car showrooms and top fashion houses, and is now lined with expensive cafes, large chain stores and many fast food restaurants. Locals are complaining about noise and pollution from the relentless traffic as the 8-lane, 1.2-mile lane remains a major artery through the city. Even the gardens at the end, near the Place de la Concorde, seem underused and uninvited.

The Champs-Élysées Committee of Local Business Leaders has been campaigning for a facelift for several years. In 2018, the committee instructed the architects PCA-Stream to draw up plans for the avenue and surrounding areas, including the Arc de Triomphe and Place de la Concorde. Hidalgo agreed to include the plans in her re-election manifesto last year.

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The redesigned Champs-Élysées stretches (top right) from the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, as envisioned by architects at PCA-Stream.

PCA current


In an extensive interview with the French newspaper, she confirmed that a facelift for the avenue is still very much planned for the coming years. The Sunday Journal, on Sunday. The committee responded quickly and welcomed the news.

In a statement, the committee notes that the avenue has lost its splendor over the past thirty years … It was gradually abandoned by Parisians and suffered several crises: yellow vest [demonstrations], strikes, the pandemic, economic crisis etc. “


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The budget for the total project is only $ 305 million, but the dramatic change will not take place immediately. Hidalgo said the refurbishment of the Place de la Concorde will continue in the next few years, but the Champs-Élysées makeover will have to wait until 2025.

This is partly because Paris must first complete the ambitious program that will prepare the city for the 2024 Olympic Games.

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An artist’s impression of architects PCA-Stream shows the plan to rebuild the central Champs-Élysées avenue in Paris as a pedestrian-friendly green space, with much less traffic than the current eight-lane layout.

PCA current


Although these plans are being scaled back due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the city is already rebuilding not only its sports facilities, but also its roads and transportation systems, and its ties with the nearby suburbs of La Défense. and to restructure. the west and Saint-Denis in the north, which should be the headquarters for all administrative activities for the Games.

“We will redo the Place de la Concorde before the Olympics, then the full length of the avenue thereafter; it will be [another] extraordinary garden, ”Hidalgo told the newspaper at the weekend.

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