Following in the footsteps of Madrid, Barcelona is planning to restrict the access of vehicles that are considered major polluters.
The restrictions would come into force from 2020 and prohibit the most-polluting vehicles from entering into its so-called “ZBE” low-emissions zone.
This 95-square-kilometer area covers nearly the entire city as well as part of four other municipalities. Officials calculate that around 50,000 vehicles – including cars, motorcycles and trucks – will cease to circulate in the zone, accounting for 7% of the current total.
This is in line with a similar scheme that was recently introduced in the capital Madrid, where only vehicles that have an identifying sticker on their windshield will be allowed in the ZBE. This sticker, issued by Spain’s Directorate-General of Traffic , classifies vehicles according to their emissions. Older, more polluting vehicles, are ineligible for the badge.
As in Madrid, vehicles will be monitored via a series of cameras, and offenders will be slapped with €100 fines.
The legislation needed to put the system in place has not yet been agreed, and there is not time for it to be finalized before upcoming local elections in May. But the current government in Barcelona City Hall trusts that it will be approved, given the widespread consensus that exists between all parties regarding the need to reduce pollution.
Via El Pais
