{"id":1269,"date":"2018-11-08T11:29:55","date_gmt":"2018-11-08T11:29:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ahoramadrid.com\/?p=1269"},"modified":"2018-11-11T20:13:58","modified_gmt":"2018-11-11T20:13:58","slug":"madrid-central","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.madridactiva.es\/en\/blog\/madrid-central\/","title":{"rendered":"This is how Madrid Central will look"},"content":{"rendered":"

Much is being said about how the centre of Madrid will be after December. Whether traffic will be shielded, whether we won't be able to take our cars into the centre, whether there will be more traffic jams, whether pollution will be reduced in the city... Well, this article comes precisely to clear up doubts, fears or uncertainties about Madrid Central<\/strong>, as it has been christened by Madrid City Council. But what exactly is it and why is it being set up?<\/p>\n

Background<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In order to explain these measures of the municipal government, we have to go back to 2008, when the European Air Quality and Climate Change Directive<\/strong>\u00a0approved a regulation that all EU countries had to comply with regarding NO2 levels. Since then, Madrid has been failing to comply with the nitrogen dioxide values set by Europe. In 2015, the European Commission sent a letter to the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs warning of the serious pollution situation in Madrid and the metropolitan area of Barcelona. The so-called \u201cFormal infringement procedure\u201d is then initiated. The Spanish government asks the Madrid corporation to put in place a solution for the non-compliance with European regulations.<\/p>\n

\"Traffic<\/p>\n

For its part WHO, UN-HABITAT and the Climate Coalition<\/strong> warn of a serious health problem in Madrid caused by high levels of pollution. According to these organisations, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) comes mainly from vehicle combustion.<\/p>\n

For its part, the Madrid City Council is setting up a Air Quality and Climate Change Plan<\/strong> that has been the talk of the town.<\/p>\n

What is Madrid Central?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

As of 30 November 2018, the following will commence operations Madrid Central<\/strong>. It is a measure of the Madrid City Council to reduce the high levels of pollution that are being recorded in the city. To this end, a series of traffic restrictions have been established in the centre of the capital.<\/p>\n

Perimeter of Madrid Central<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"Car-free<\/p>\n

Madrid Central is almost the whole of the Centro district. It includes the 4 current RPAs,<\/strong> which are Residential Priority Areas, i.e., Palace, Sol, Embajadores and Cortes.<\/strong> And as a new feature, the Justice and University districts.<\/strong> But perhaps what Madrid residents are most interested in knowing is which streets will be affected and how it will affect their daily lives. Here is a breakdown of the perimeter of Madrid Central with the names of the streets that make it up:<\/p>\n