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The Parisian urban planning workshop on the scale of Paris and Greater Paris documents, deciphers, supports, illuminates, projects, explores and shares diversity.

Following developments on the Boulevard Périphérique ring-road from October 2024 to August 2025

With the speed limit reduced to 50 km/h since 1st October 2024, followed by the implementation of a lane used specifically by vehicles transporting two or more people (VR2+) since 3rd March 2025, the transformation of the Boulevard Périphérique (BP) is gaining momentum. In order to increase awareness of these traffic developments and their effect, Apur analyses and maps traffic, average speeds, congestion, accidents, noise and air quality.

Icône de la catégorie Following developments on the Boulevard Périphérique ring-road from October 2024 to August 2025
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Ring road © Christophe Jacquet - City of Paris

Based on data provided by the City of Paris Department of Roads and Mobility, the Department of Climate and Ecological Transition as well as Airparif et Bruitparif, monitoring the Boulevard Périphérique from October 2024 to August 2025 presents a spatialised assessment, comparing it with the previous year, the four first months of the reduced speed limit and the experimental reserved lane trial, developments over the nine months since October 2024 and the particular months of July and August 2025 using the same period in 2023 as a reference.

Synthèse des évolutions du Boulevard périphérique par séquence de transformation pour les mois d'octobre 2024 à août 2025 © Apur

From March 2025 to June 2025
The analysis of the four months from March to June 2025,with the application of the 50 km/h speed limit and the VR2+ lane, highlights five consequences on the scale of the BP lanes:

  • With the number of vehicles slightly reduced (-5%) between the months of March and June in 2024 and 2025, there were fewer traffic jams (-11%).
  • Daytime Speed reduced by -9% and by -18% at night.
  • The number of accidents was decreasing (-10%).
  • Noise pollution, particularly at night, showed a decline. Along the Porte de Vincennes sector of the Boulevard Périphérique, an average drop of -2.7 dB(A) was measured between March and June 2025 compared with 2024, of 77.2 dB(A) and 79.9 dB(A) respectively.
  • Although the data to measure NO2 and PM10 emissions is complex, involving the interconnection of different and in particular climatic factors, the months from March to June 2025 reveal stable nitrogen dioxide levels and a rise in PM10 concentrations, linked mainly to the low pluviometric measurement in 2025 compared with 2024.

The spatial analysis of the implementation of the 50 km/h speed limit and the VR2+ lane during the busiest hours on the BP, from March to June revealed four consequences in particular:

  • A slight drop in traffic was noted overall, also visible during the hours when the reserved lane was busy (-4%). This was more accentuated on the left hand VR2+ lane (-13%) than on the other lanes where the traffic flow remained stable, as observed during the first two months of the VR2+ lane implementation.
  • Traffic jams also decreased (-6%) although not as much as during the first two months, due to a particularly congested month of June. This reduction in traffic congestion was due to a significant drop in traffic on the VR2+ lane (-36%) and a slight increase on the other lanes (+4%).
  • Speed lowered overall on the BP, in line with the 50 km/h speed limit. During busy hours on VR2+ the speed of traffic was higher by +8.2 km/h than on other BP lanes. The speed difference between the left-hand lane and the other lanes has widened since the VR2+ lane became operational.
  • A rising number of accidents (+7%), 232 accidents compared with 217 the previous year, mainly due to a single month of May being more accident-prone in 2025 than in 2024.

From October 2024 to June 2025
The combined results of October 2024 to June 2025 are consistent with the changes observed on the BP since October 2024:

  • A reduction in traffic (-4%).
  • A reduction in hours of traffic jams (-14%).
  • A lowering of speed during the day (-8%) and especially at night (-18%).
  • A reduction in the number of accidents (-14%).
  • An average lowering of noise emission of -2.7 db (A), demonstrating the integration of the VR2+ scheme into the project to calm and fluidify traffic on the BP.
    A decrease in traffic (-4%).

July and August 2025
Results for the months of July and August are also included. Due to the fact that 2024, with the introduction of the lane reserved for transporting the athletes during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, was not a representative year, the results in 2025 are compared with those of 2023. The following main developments can be observed on all the lanes between July-August 2025 and July-August 2023:

  • A slight drop in traffic (-7%).
  • A rise in hours of traffic jams (+14%), mainly due to the effects of congestion on the BP inner ring-road between Porte Dorée and Porte d'Italie, resulting from road works during the summer at the entrance to the A6 motorway.
  • A reduction in the number of accidents (-31%).
  • An average reduction in noise emissions of -2 dB(A).
  • An average -5.9 μg/m3 reduction of NO2 concentrations.
  • The stabilisation of PM10 at +0,3 μg/m3.

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