Paris, Je T'aime

One thing Paris has done right, writes commentator Serge Schmemann in the International Herald Tribune, is make the city a lousy place for cars. But city planners who would mimic the Parisian model for reducing car congestion should heed a few lessons first: 1) it's important beef up public transit before you make life difficult for the automobile; 2) the availability of cheap bikes is 'an idea whose time has come'; and 3) it's not about virtue, it's about dollars and cents -- or euros, as the case may be. Point being: If you want people to care about fuel efficiency and conserve gas, you have to raise the tax on fuel. Not a little bit either but beaucoup.