Lille Metropole is currently renewing its mobility strategy for the next 10 years and the emphasis will be put on decarbonizing transport, following the new Sustainable and smart mobility strategy published by the European Union in December 2020, while ensuring accessibility for all.

In order to achieve this vision and make transport more sustainable, Lille Metropole decided to implement two new steps at the same time. A restrictive low emission zone (LEZ) alongside a massive €2 billion investment plan for short and long-term public transport infrastructure and services, were both approved on the same day in June 2019.

Five new tramway lines will be created to connect popular districts with subway stations. In addition, high-level service buses will be deployed to connect areas on the outskirts of the city. For the busiest lines, trams and buses with the capacity to transport a larger number of travellers will be provided and/or frequencies will be increased. Moreover, cross-border lines will be reinforced in readability and frequencies and new connections added. All based on a few guiding principles: support economic and urban development, ease access to the urban core from outside, and connection between outskirt areas so that no one is left behind by the LEZ. All those new infrastructure will be deployed between now and 2035.

The low-emission zone will include 11 of the most urban municipalities (Lille and neighbouring cities) among the 95 municipalities of the metropolitan territory. This represents 340,000 people and 60 km2 (compared with 25 km2 in Antwerp, 84 km2 in Paris for examples). The restrictions will be in place 24 hours per day, seven days per week to ease consistency and enforcement. Depending on further technical and political decisions, notably final discussion on implementation with local mayors of concerned municipalities, the LEZ should be operating by 2022.

A more detailed article on this strategy has been published by Lille Metropole in January 2020 on specialized transport and mobility networks such as POLIS and the urban mobility observatory, you can read it here.