Petition to keep Madrid's car-free zone amasses 15,000 signatures
Wednesday, May 29, 2019 @ 10:46 PM
OVER 15,000 people have so far signed a petition for the car-free 'Madrid Central' to stay put now that the city may end up being governed by the right-wing PP in coalition with far-right Vox.
Put in place by hitherto mayoress Manuela Carmena of the Podemos faction Ahora Madrid ('Madrid Now'), the city centre is shut to traffic except authorised public transport, residents, residents' visitors – up to a maximum of 20 a month – service providers and delivery drivers, emissions-free vehicles, and lower-emission B and C vehicles en route to a public car park.
The idea was to cut air pollution in Spain's capital, after representatives from Madrid and Barcelona were summoned to Brussels to explain why emissions there were among the highest on the continent and to detail their plans to reduce it.
Spain was one of a long list of countries with polluted cities ordered by Brussels to do their environmental homework.
One of the petition's signatories, David de los Ríos, says: “There's still a lot to do in order to reduce air pollution and bring Madrid in line with other European capital cities; let's not lose what little we've achieved so far.”
The author of the petition, on Change.org – J. Sáez – said it would be 'a shame' for Madrid to 'fill up with cars, pollution and gridlock again', and called for residents to help campaign for 'Madrid Central' to stay in order to achieve a 'more modern, sustainable, visitable and pedestrian-friendly' city.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com