Low emissions, no problem for Benidorm, Costa Blanca

EIGHT Alicante province municipalities have been ordered to create “low-emission zones” and Benidorm is one of them.
Spokeswoman for the central government in Madrid, Nadia Calviño, announced the measure which applies all over Spain after the last Cabinet meeting. Ministers approved a declaration of climate and environmental emergency, committing the government to 30 priority measures, five of them during the first 100 days of Pedro Sanchez’s new government. Municipalities with populations of more than 50,000 must take steps to reduce emissions, hence Benidorm’s inclusion along with Alicante City, Elche, Torrevieja, Orihuela, Alcoy, Elda and San Vicente.
All must introduce zones like that of Madrid Central which give preference to pedestrians, cyclists and public transport. The announcement was well-received by environmentalist groups including Ecologistas en Accion but greeted cautiously by some Alicante towns and cities involved. In contrast, Benidorm town hall was not discouraged by the announcement.
“We have been working on our Sustainable Mobility Plan for four years,” transport councillor Jose Ramon Gonzalez de Zarate told the local Spanish media.
“According to our studies, more than 63% of journeys inside the town are made on foot,” he added.