New Pedestrian-Only Bridges to be Built Across Paris’s Seine River

Since hosting the Climate Change Conference in late 2015, Paris has introduced ways to make the French capital city more environmentally friendly. Examples include restricting the use of gas-powered vehicles in the city center and building more walkways and bike paths along the Seine River to encourage commuters to seek alternative forms of transportation. The latest initiative proposed by Paris’s City Hall involves building three new pedestrian bridges across the Seine, paying homage to the city’s history of commercial areas on and around the central river.

The “garden” bridges would not permit any vehicles to cross and instead would feature merchant stalls selling local goods as well as cafés and small gardens. Currently, select banks of the river in the center of the city are dotted with “bouquinistes,” or book sellers who sell antique books, a tradition that dates to the 18th century. These new bridges, however, would allow other businesses to set up shop along the river as well, similar to the heavily trafficked Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy.

In an effort to draw tourists out of the center of the city, these new bridges will be located in areas farther from the typical sights and attractions. One bridge will be located in the 15th arrondisement (or district) near André Citroën park, the second will be more central, between Pont de Sully and Pont d’Austerlitz, and the third will be closer to the 13th arrondisement near Bercy-Charenton.