Malaga town of Torremolinos to implement Low Emission Zones in line with EU regulations

IN compliance with European Union regulations, Torremolinos Town Hall will implement the Low Emissions Zone in the municipality from next January 1, 2024.

Torremolinos inicia un plan de acción para reducir la contaminación y el ruido.

☑️ A la Zona de Bajas Emisiones se suma una nueva regulación de carga/descarga, el incentivo del transporte público y la implantación de cámaras de tráfico y vigilancia.

ℹ https://t.co/BgXC79vRtB pic.twitter.com/WixcdeKKWe

— Torremolinos Informa (@Torremolinos_On) October 31, 2023

As announced in a statement this Tuesday, October 31, the Costa del Sol resort’s the mayor, Margarita del Cid said: ‘One of the great objectives of Torremolinos for the coming years is the complete renewal of the city from an urban regeneration point of view’.

‘It entails, among other aspects, the reduction of pollution and noise in areas that are more saturated due to the use of private vehicles, which means an improvement in air quality and acoustic quality. In this way, the short-term commitment of the government team is to reduce greenhouse gases by more than 40 per cent in the busiest areas’, she explained.

‘Along with the implementation of the Low Emissions Zone (ZBE), a guideline that comes directly from Europe and that all cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants must implement, we have promoted a broader strategy, focused on improving internal mobility in the town and encouraging public transportation’, the mayor continued.

She pointed out that: ‘The creation of a park-and-ride in the Los Palacios area has demonstrated the success of this model, which is why there is a commitment on the part of the government team to create new parking areas in neighborhoods saturated in this aspect, such as Calvario or the Carihuela’.

Loading and unloading polluting vehicles will be limited

‘We are also currently working on a new ordinance that regulates loading and unloading in the municipality, so that it is concentrated in the early hours of the morning, with only zero-polluting vehicles being able to access it in other periods’, Del Cid added.

According to the mayor: ‘The installation of security cameras that comes with the implementation of the low emissions zone also becomes, in turn, an intelligence and big data tool, in such a way that the Council will have a daily diagnosis of the traffic volume, adopting measures that improve the flow of vehicles in real time’.

‘Apart from the obvious improvement in security, we will have a complete video surveillance system that will be integrated and coordinated with the Torremolinos Local Police’, she detailed.

The use of electric cars and bicycles will be encouraged

In addition, the installation in the downtown area of ​​the town of a total of two bicycle racks with space for ten bicycles each is proposed. Six electric vehicle charging points are also planned, in such a way that the use of this means of transport is encouraged.

‘Along with improving mobility, we also want to encourage public transportation. In fact, Torremolinos has a series of discounts for bus transportation aimed at young people and adults, which currently have more than 800 beneficiaries’, the mayor continued.

‘Likewise, together with the Junta de Andalucía, work is being done on the necessary promotion of a bus station that redirects the flow of these vehicles to an area outside the centre and is better connected to the highway, in such a way that intra and interurban transportation is improved’, she explained.

The mayor added: ‘The Council has also reiterated the need to improve and reinforce Cercanías line 1 between Málaga and Fuengirola, which has up to five stations in Torremolinos, which require better maintenance and updating of services and equipment’.

When will work on the Low Emissions Zone commence?

As explained by Del Cid, the implementation of the Low Emissions Zone will be carried out in the coming weeks. An intense process of citizen participation will be carried out in conjunction with this work, to inform in detail of the zones to be affected.

Specifically, the streets that will be affected as of January 1, 2024 are: a section of Calle Hoyo, between Eduardo Aguilera and Maestra Miret, Calles Río Aranda, Eduardo Aguilera, and Maestra Miret, Avenida de los Manantiales, between Llaza Picasso and Avenida Isabel Manoja.

It will also take in Avenida Ramal de los Manantiales, Calles Río Salazar, Río Arba, Río Subordán, and Madre del Buen Consejo, plus a section of Calles María Barrabino and Río Mesa.

The Councillor for Mobility and Transport explained

Sandra Jaime, the Councillor for Mobility and Transport, explained that: ‘Vehicles registered in Torremolinos with labels 0, ECO and C will be able to travel without any type of restriction’.

She continued: ‘Vehicles registered with label B will be able to travel without any type of restriction between the 9 pm and 8 am, or at any time of the day as long as they are for loading and unloading, accessing private or paid parking, or accessing a hotel establishment’.

‘If it is not for any of these exceptions, vehicles with label B will not be able to travel on the aforementioned streets between 8 am. and 9 pm’, she explained.

‘Vehicles lacking an environmental label will not be able to circulate through the Low Emissions Zone. Any vehicle may circulate through the ZBE with express municipal authorisation’, Jaime added.

The councillor reported that: ‘a website will be implemented to be able to manage access authorisations to the ZBE of Torremolinos according to the regulations of Torremolinos Council’.

‘In addition, on this website you can perform other tasks such as registering on the website, processing an authorisation, checking the processing status, checking authorisations, authorising vehicles if you are a hotel, workshop or business’.

It also assists in: ‘Inviting vehicles if you are a resident or merchant of the ZBE, to check vehicle accesses added to your account, send complaints or suggestions, receive notifications in real time and be able to consult the history, see the most recent accesses in list mode and navigation mode on a town map, and consult the details of each trip selected, date and time, place, registration number and access, entry or exit number’, she concluded.