Transit vehicles banned from central Lyon

Following Paris in November, Lyon is banning vehicle traffic in its city center from Saturday, June 21, a measure strongly defended by Green elected officials despite criticism from shopkeepers and the opposition.

The limited traffic zone (ZTL), which covers 55 hectares of the peninsula, or around fifteen streets, aims to "protect" pedestrians, who are already the majority in the area, limit pollution and "promote the local economy," according to Mayor Grégory Doucet.

"But be careful: there's no question of strictly banning cars from the heart of Lyon," he wrote on the social network LinkedIn: local residents, public transport, taxis, emergency services and tradespeople, among others, will be able to access it.

These rights holders will pass through entry points, equipped with retractable terminals, regulated by code, automatic license plate recognition or badge.

The banks of the Rhône and Saône rivers, which border the peninsula, will remain open to all, as will the 18 public car parks in the area, providing 10.000 spaces.

The ZTL is provoking opposition, as is the case with the low-emission zone (ZFE), which was rolled out in 2022 to restrict the circulation of the most polluting cars before its repeal at the end of May by the National Assembly.

"This ZTL is madness!" writes the Collective of Defenders of Lyon and Greater Lyon, which brings together around thirty associations of traders, entrepreneurs, and residents, on its Facebook page: "We are emptying Lyon of its life and its visitors... and we're not talking about tourists, but only people from outside the peninsula."

Combining several grievances, the group reported to AFP a drop in turnover of 20% to 40% for some businesses, "due to the work, the removal of parking spaces and the full parking lots on weekends."

"The ZTL can be a useful lever... if it is well thought out," recently tweeted former Olympique Lyonnais boss Jean-Michel Aulas, who is considering running for mayor of Lyon in 2026, denouncing the "brutal pedestrianization of the Presqu'île."

Pierre Oliver, the LR mayor of the 2nd arrondissement, part of which is crossed by the ZTL and already in the running for the municipal elections, called in a press release for the "immediate suspension" of the system, the implementation of which he said was "chaotic."

According to a count by the Ecological Transition Agency in 2019, 238 ZTLs were in service in eight European countries.

In France, they have been multiplying since the pioneer in Nantes in 2012, followed in particular by Grenoble, Rennes and Paris.