Madrid: Alternative circulation due to high levels of pollution

World News Adina Camarasu
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Unbreathable air in the Spanish capital. Madrid issued a second-degree alert due to pollution and authorities are taking extreme measures: private car parking prohibited within a radius of 5 km from the center of the capital.

Madrid City Hall has banned on Thursday the access in the city center for cars with even-numbered license plates.

The move came in first due to high levels of pollution and it is part of a special protocol for such situations.

The traffic was reduced by 8% after even-numbered cars were banned in the city center.

Madrid started to take severe measures to reduce pollution after the nitrogen oxide in the air has reached a worrying level.

Some Madrid citizens supported this initiative, while others declared themselves dissatisfied that they can not use their cars.

Drivers who have tried to reach Madrid were forced to run at 70 km/h the maximum speed and were unable to park in the city center. Those who did not respect the decision of the were fined with tickets of € 90.

Madrid City Hall is planning to extend the anti-pollution measures, but the officials will make a series of exceptions in the first days of 2017, as most citizens have their vacations programmed after New Year’s Eve.

Thanks to these measures of restricting traffic, the city officials had already noticed a decrease in terms of pollution in Madrid.

All cars will be able to move freely in the Spanish capital on Friday with the maximum speed of 70 km per hour, but the special protocol will normally continue after that and will prohibit parking on the surface, especially in the center of Madrid.

This is the second time this year when they take such a measure. This situation was reached due to the heavy traffic, but also from lack of rain, that made all the exhaust gasses remain in the atmosphere.