Developments during 2020 in Madrid Central

Madrid Central, now known as Madrid 360, has undergone a series of modifications that came into force on January 1, 2020.This low emission zone, is included in the Air Quality and Climate Change Plan A of the city of Madrid being studied during the last months with the sole mission to verify the positive effect it has on the city center.With the intention of improving this measure, some relevant changes have been included, to reduce the traffic of the most polluting vehicles, favor public transport and promote pedestrian and cyclist mobility in the area. For all these reasons, we will now develop the most relevant changes after the last agreement under the mayoralty of Mr. Almeida.

New free circulation routes

As of January 1, the streets of Mártires de Alcalá and Seminario de Nobles, where the largest number of fines are collected, due to traffic confusion, have been eliminated from the Madrid Central perimeter, so they are free circulation . As previously stated, this modification of the Madrid Central area, after a detailed study, and from which it has been concluded that it was necessary to improve the current road management of the area in order to facilitate the communication of the neighborhood of Argüelles with the neighborhoods of Gaztambide and Arapiles, in order, of course, to reduce traffic routes and reduce traffic congestion and environmental pollution.This change also reduces the routes that were previously made from Princesa street in order to make the turn at Alberto Aguilera, thus reducing traffic on both roads.

Change of access hours for motorcycles

Another modification in the December 2019 agreement for this year 2020, is the change of extended access hours for delivery motorcycles . Motorcycles, mopeds and tricycles with which courier and home delivery services are provided are allowed access to the Centro district from 7:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. until December 31, 2020.

Access to cranes, workshops and assistance with A badge; Other

Access is also extended until the same date to different classes or types of vehicles with environmental badge, such as cranes and workshop vehicles for roadside assistance, and a relevant change is the access to tourism type vehicles of commercial establishments, restaurants and hotels located inside Madrid Central, as long as the access is processed by authorization through one of the Associations that represent the businesses of Madrid Central.In addition, this moratorium includes special vehicles such asmilitary vehicles, vehicle carriers, dump trucks, armored vehicles, funeral vehicles, tow cranes, concrete mixers, sludge extractors, fire engines, etc. Finally, those vehicles that take and pick up students from kindergartens, schools and institutes of kindergarten, primary and secondary education located in the area of Madrid Central.

Tourist and special public vehicles

For the moment, it has been clarified what happens with the vehicles of workers in Madrid Central with night hours, very different from what happens with those who have morning hours, which has not been discussed or included in this latest agreement.They can access Madrid Central, vehicles type car with distinctive A of workers inMadrid Central whose start or end time of the working day is between 00.00 and 6.30 a.m.; vehicles accessing repair shops located in the area; vehicles of lawyers on duty to access police stations located in the districts of Centro and Retiro, until December 31, 2020.On the other hand, vehicles of essential public services and those of public administrations and their contractors, labeled or not, with distinctive A, as long as the provider justifies the impossibility of offering the service with another type of vehicle, either because it is bound by a contract during its validity or because there is no such type of vehicle of categories 0 emissions, ECO, C or B may access beyond December 31 of this year.In addition, for the allocation of permits for parking spaces, in case they are larger than 25 square meters, will be made by sections of 10 useful meters and will be checked ex officio by the City Council the registration in the IAE in cases of registration of service or supply companies (until now it was requested that the interested parties were responsible for indicating in which IAE headings, were discharged.

Impossibility of access to polluting vehicles

Since January 1, people registered in Madrid Central will not be allowed to manage invitations to access the Low Emission Zone for vehicles without environmental badge. They will only be allowed access if they are among the cases with permission, such as if the vehicle belongs to a person registered in the district of Centro or if it transports people with reduced mobility.

Parking ban in the SER

The above restrictions will also affect polluting vehicles of residents, who will not be able to park in the SER zone in another neighborhood different from the one where they are registered, not even in private parking lots, therefore, from January 1 the vehicles with environmental condistintivo Atienen forbidden to park in the area of Regulated Parking Service (SER), except in the neighborhood where they are registered.It remains to be seen how these modifications will develop and how they affect the city center, but it is not ruled out that as time and months go by, the development of this measure will evolve and new changes will be included, with the main purpose of improving circulation and reducing environmental pollution.

Pilar Mata (Lawyer T&L)