Italy – banning cars from city streets

By Anna McLauchlin

Date: 24/03/05

Cars are being banned from the roads in cities across Italy in an attempt to meet European air pollution limits that came into force in January.

Seven cities, including Rome, Milan and Turin, banned all cars and motorbikes from its roads on two Sundays in February and March, and say they will continue on a regular basis as long as limits are threatened.

Milan also stopped odd- and even-numbered cars from driving on alternate days during a nine-day period when it became clear it would come close to breaching the pollution limit.

Under the rules, EU cities must not let the level of small particles in the air rise above 50 micrograms per cubic metre of air on more than 35 days in a year. Many of Italy's regional authorities feared that they would hit the limit by the end of February.

Markus Liechti from the European Federation for Transport and Environment says that there is no reason to believe that Italian cities are any more polluted than others in Europe and is baffled as to why other cities haven't taken any action.

He cites Berlin as one example of a city that risks breaching the 50µg/m3 limit. NGOs have demanded action, he said.

In an effort to meet European Union standards for air quality, the Italian Government is banning cars from city streets on certain days.