Goodbye to Madrid Central.
The Madrid City Council has approved this Monday the new mobility ordinance for the capital of Spain, which abolishes the previous one, by Manuela Carmena.
The PP, with 15 councilors, and Ciudadanos, with 11, have managed to carry out the regulations thanks to the four votes of the Mixed Group.
Last week, four councilors of Más Madrid officially left this formation due to discrepancies with the spokesperson, Rita Maestre.
Seven days later, these four councilors have voted in favor of the José Luis Martínez-Almeida ordinance.
The
popular ones
, yes, have accepted 27 of the 29 amendments of these four wayward councilors.
More Madrid, with 15 councilors;
PSOE, with eight and Vox, with four, have voted against.
And now, what changes for the people of Madrid ?:
Does Central Madrid disappear then?
Madrid Central will continue to be Madrid Central, but the logos and canopies bearing that name will be removed from the streets.
The restriction to traffic in the central almond of the capital of Spain will remain as proposed by Manuela Carmena (Now Madrid).
Not a millimeter more, not a millimeter less.
After the approval of this new mobility ordinance, PP and Ciudadanos have decided to name these 4.7 kilometers from the center of the capital Central District.
In other words, in the next few days the canopies and the white asphalt paints will be erased and will have this new name.
The cost will amount to 185,000 euros for the City Council's coffers.
More information
Almeida removes the name of Madrid Central from the streets for 185,000 euros
What is known so far about the new Madrid Central de Almeida
The political and legal labyrinth of Almeida to advance his alternative to Central Madrid
What changes with respect to the previous regulation?
Basically two things. With Madrid Central, merchants in the downtown area who had cars without an environmental label - known as A vehicles - were prohibited from entering. The mobility area of the City Council believes that this measure affected some 15,000 users. Well, with the new ordinance, now more vehicles will enter than before because these citizens will be able to access the low emission zone with up to three vehicles per location, regardless of the label they have. The other point that also varies are for those trucks weighing more than 3.5 tons, which were prohibited from driving since January 1, 2022 and now this prohibition is extended for one more year, until January 1, 2023. In addition, The time for reservations for loading and unloading of any freight vehicle is also increased from 30 to 45 minutes.
Okay, but when will the new Downtown District Low Emission Zone come into effect?
The legal calendar of this new ordinance now enters a labyrinth of dates. After approval in plenary session on Monday afternoon, the City Council has to publish it in the Official Gazette of the Madrid City Council (BOAM) to make it official. Sources in the mobility area calculate that, if everything goes according to plan, it will be published in the BOAM either this Friday, or already on Monday or Tuesday of next week. After its publication, will the regulations take effect immediately? Yes, but in parts. From the moment of its publication, those cars that do not have a label will be prohibited from accessing it, as it has been until now. However, only mobility agents can fine citizens. The cameras, as happened with the now defunct Madrid Central, will begin to fine two months after its approval.If all goes according to plan, the new traffic restriction area will be operational and sanctioned at full capacity in the third week of November. What about merchants? They will have to contact the City Council to expedite the procedures that allow them to access with their vehicles.
Is there anything new with motorcycles?
Yes. Almeida's idea was to extend the circulation of motorcycles through the Central District until 11:00 pm, one hour more than until now, 10:00 pm.
Ultimately, this measure will not be carried out.
Another point that varies with motorcycles is parking.
You should always park in the areas set up for this type of vehicle.
What if they don't exist?
In the unreserved space of the parking strip, obliquely to the sidewalk line and occupying a maximum of two meters, so that access to other vehicles or the passage from the sidewalk to the road is not impeded.
How do I know the label on my car?
The environmental label system is national.
There are five categories and only the four cleanest have badges.
To find out the environmental category of a vehicle can be consulted on the DGT website (www.dgt.es).
Petrol cars registered before 2000 and diesel before 2006 do not have a label and are called A. Label B corresponds to gasoline cars from 2000 to 2006 and diesel cars from 2006 to 2013. C, for gasoline after 2006 and diesel after 2014. Eco: hybrids in general.
Zero: electric or hybrid with a range of more than 40 kilometers.
The sticker must always be on the front window.
What do I have to know if my car is A?
That his days are numbered.
If you live outside of Madrid, as of January 1, 2022, access and circulation within the M-30 will also be prohibited.
Already in 2023, these same cars of those citizens who do not live in Madrid will not be able to circulate on the M-30 either.
And in January 2024, no vehicle A from outside Madrid will be able to circulate throughout the municipality.
The measure changes suddenly in 2025 and does affect Madrid.
Those residents of Madrid who have cars that are distinctive A and, therefore, cannot have environmental stickers, they will not be able to circulate around the city with these cars.
What else varies?
The Plaza Elíptica area and speed.
This area, 15 times smaller than the Central District, will also have a low emissions zone. The 17 streets that encompass this corner of the south of Madrid, and one of the most polluting, will have restricted access to vehicles that do not have a label three months after the publication of the ordinance in the BOAM. That is, already in December. From that moment, the mobility agents will be able to sanction the vehicles. Residents will be able to circulate without restrictions on the 30 hectares affected (0.3 square kilometers).
The new ordinance also includes reducing the speed of vehicles to 20 km / h in school environments.
This will only affect the sections from seven to nine in the morning and from three to five in the afternoon.
On the other hand, in those one-way streets you must circulate at 20 km / h as long as there are bollards on the sidewalks.
Otherwise, 15 km / h.
I have a friend who lives in the Central District, can he invite me to visit him by car?
Yes, the regulations will remain exactly the same as before.
Residents who live in the downtown area will have up to 20 invitations per month for vehicles, which will be able to access Madrid Central to park on the street for a maximum of two hours (or without limit in the garage of any close relative).
Of course, it will not be possible to give access to those vehicles that do not have an environmental label.
The rest will be authorized without any problem.
You can check how to process these invitations, here.
How are invitations requested?
As before. Requesting invitations to the Central District is a process that involves two steps: first, you have to go to a municipal office —there is, for example, in Atocha, 70; Moncloa, 1; Paseo de la Chopera, 10 and Monte Oliveti, 14— with the DNI so that an official can verify that the person is registered in the area included in the Central District. Once this is done, the City Council gives the person an identification code. This code is what is used to invite up to 20 motorized people per month. This procedure can be done either by phone (by calling 010), or through the municipal website. Once they enter, guests can then park for two hours in the SER zone or all day in a public car park. In any case, invited vehicles without an environmental label will not be allowed to enter.
How much is the amount of the fines?
The fines have not changed.
The mayor of mobility, Borja Carabante, has explained that those who do not comply with the rule will be sanctioned with a minor infraction: a fine of 90 euros (45 if they are paid within 20 calendar days).
It is the same amount that is already applied in Embajadores, Las Letras, Cortes y Ópera, the Residential Priority Areas that have been in operation for years (the first dates from 2004).
Why was a new ordinance passed if one already existed?
Everything was suddenly precipitated on May 11. That day, the Supreme Court left Madrid Central on the air by accepting the arguments of a complaint that the PP filed in 2018, where it also criticized Central Madrid because this low-emission zone had not been properly processed. The main argument was that Carmena did not take into account the 11.7 million of economic impact that, it was estimated, this restriction would have on the accounts of the City Council. Three years later, the sentence has given the reason to the PP, which has caught him in command of the city and with the preparations for its new regulations in the making. The Supreme Court's decision has suddenly precipitated the immediate approval of this new ordinance. In addition, after the passage of the climate change law, all cities over 50.000 inhabitants will have to have a low emission zone, yes or yes, before 2023.
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