European Cities That Are Making Streets Become Car Free

The quality of life in cities would be so much better if they were car-free. So the following European cities are trying to reduce the number of cars in the streets.

● Copenhagen, Denmark

Beginning in the 1960s, Denmark’s capital pioneered walker-only zones and the city now has over 321 kilometers of bike routes. Over half of the people in Copenhagen ride bicycles to work. Denmark is building a superhighway of 28 routes for bikes that’ll connect the city to its surrounding suburban areas. The first of the routes opened in 2014.

● Hamburg, Germany

The German city is planning on making walking and biking the main forms of transportation by reducing the number of cars allowed in specific areas of the city by 2035. The project calls for a green network of places people can go to without cars, which will cover 40 % of Hamburg. The green network will include parks, playgrounds and sports fields.

● Milan, Italy

In this Italian city, for every day that drivers leave their cars parked at home during working hours, they’ll receive a 1.5 Euro ticket reward good for the use of public transportation. The city has buses, subways, trams (有轨电车) to choose from, so it pays to leave the driving to them.

● Paris, France

In 2017， the French capital announced it would ban diesel (柴油) cars by 2024. Cars that run on gas are expected to be removed by 2030. There’s already an older car ban from the city center for working hours on weekdays. “If you live in Paris and get rid of your car, you can claim benefits of around $ 700 to buy a bike,” according to Fast Company.

The Metro-Boston public bike share system, Hubway, is now available at a significant discount to low-income people. "SNAP Card to Ride" was started by the cities of Boston, Cambridge, Somerville and the Town Of Brookline.

“SNAP Card to Ride”provides $5 monthly memberships and $50 annual memberships to people over the age of 16 with their household EBT (电子福利转账) card. The membership includes unlimited 60-minute trips, rather than the present 30-minute trips, without additional fees.

The program is part of an ongoing commitment to improving bike share access among traditionally underserved populations. Those who don't receive SNAP benefits but participate in other public assistance programs will be able to gain access to the discounted membership program in the near future.

“The city of Boston is pleased to be part of the SNAP Card to Ride partnership, and we look forward to increasing the number of stations and bikes in Boston over the next 18 months,”said Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh.

“Hubway shows that bike share is fulfilling its promise as a vital part of the Boston area's transportation network -- increasing access to the area's existing transportation network as well as areas underserved by public transportation,”said Jay H. Walder, CEO of Hubway.“We're eager to continue to help grow a system that has truly served as an inspiration for a whole generation of bike share programs across the nation.”

Winter riding is available in all four municipalities for the first time this year, following several years of winter operations in the city of Cambridge. Boston, Brookline, Cambridge and Somerville announced major expansion of the publicly-owned system. In all they'll add over 100 new stations in 2018 and 2019, providing over 300 stations and approximately 3,000 bicycles for public use.

Driving to the airport in the early morning, I felt excited. Although I was heading abroad for my first time alone, I felt cheerful and enthusiastic. I was spending the summer in Paris.

While looking for more interesting things to do besides sleeping and eating, I found programs for learning languages abroad, and jumped at the chance to study French in this city known for its art, fashion, food, and culture. As I arrived at the airport where I would leave my family, I still felt only great happiness. I excitedly made my way through security, leaving my loved ones behind.

My connecting flight was in Frankfurt, Germany, 14 hours from Denver. Sitting in a crowded plane watching bad movies couldn’t dampen my excitement. When the woman next to me asked me where I was going, I happily answered and was pleased to note a tone of jealousy in her response.

But when I arrived in Frankfurt, fear and anxiety began to set in. Being in an enormous, busy building in a country where I couldn’t speak the language was frightening, but as I found my way, I gained confidence. When I boarded the second plane and discovered that the flight was less than an hour, I was filled with excitement as I thought of how I would manage in a country with a new language.

When I stepped on the ground of Pairs for the first time, I was extremely happy and excited. I gathered my bags and joined the crowd of people waiting for friends and family. I quickly had my first experience trying to communicate in a language that I had only practiced in school. As I left the airport, I looked for familiar monuments I had read about, but the landscape looked very- ordinary. Then, with one sharp turn, the Eiffel Tower came into view, and I was finally in Pairs.