Area C and Area B In Milan
Car use VS Sustainability ? Is the car era over ?
Controversy Documents Studio Group 7
How did it start ? Brief timeline of Milan’s car policy and congestion charge
2008-2011 : Ecopass program
April 2011 : Creation of Area C
February 2018 : Creation of Area B
It is legitimate to forbid the most polluting vehicles in an environmental perspective. However for all the people that were convinced and ready to pass to a GPL car, discovering that those ones were also categorized as a payment vehicle in the C area, was bitter and disappointing. In fact, it is fair to block the most polluting vehicles. However for all the people that were convinced and ready to pass to a GPL car, discovering that those ones were also categorized as a payment vehicle in the C area, was bitter and disappointing. In the B area, people turned to other ways of transportation. The frequentation of the subway has risen of 17% and 12% in the buses and tramways. Therefore, given this information, we assume that the prohibition Fig. 1- Comune di Milano of certain vehicles in the city center has made the vehicle use drastically dropped and the use of public transportation increase. The Fig. 1- Area B and C | Comune di Milano new measures really helps the air pollution issue which is major in the city, while giving money to the state allowing (maybe) to create new solutions for the issue, which is, let’s not forget, environmental and sanitary. In Milan, the car policy is not recent. Milan is one of the most polluted cities among Europe and has one of the highest European rates of car ownership. In 2008, the Ecopass program was implemented a an urban tool for some vehicles driving within a traffic restricted zone or ZTL (Zona a Traffico Limitato) encircling 8,2km2 within all the area of Cerchia dei Bastioni. It was implemented as a one-year experiment in January 2008 and was then extended until 2011. Only vehicles with high-polluting engines were charged and vehicles with the oldest and most polluting engines were banned. Depending on the vehicles engine emissions standard, the fees varied from 2 to 10 euros on every weekdays from 7:30h to 19:30h. In 2012, a new scheme (Area C) was implemented, replacing the Ecopass system. Area C is based on the same area of the Ecopass system. What is the difference? Within Area C, every vehicle has to pay 5 euros regardless of their pollution level. The funds that would be raised from this program would allow the city to finance public transportation projects, cycle paths and green vehicles.
Inequalities of mobility ? Some people depend on the use of their cars mainly to go to work, especially if they come from remote areas outside of Milan. Sometimes, they live in suburbs that are not reachable by metro or local train. Will it be an obstacle for these people ? Many commuters now have to park their vehicles in one the 20 000 parking spaces - which cost 2 euros per day and that have been created in the periphery to compensate the interdiction of driving within the restricted area - in order to take the public transpiration network to reach the city. In most of people’s mind, using their car is still something viewed as way less expensive than using the public transportation. We can reasonably state that the time spent to reach a location will be lengthened for some people. That’s why a car policy can never be thought only by considering the intra-muros inhabitants. What about the new parking spaces created in the periphery ? Isn’t it a « lesser evil solution » in the sense that it prevents the majority of vehicles to enter the city and is likely to load the periphery with traffic and parking spaces full of new vehicles ? Through this issue, we can see some similarities with other car policies in other countries. Let’s give a look at the Parisian car policy concerning the banks (les berges) : the mayor wanted those areas to get rid of cars, leading to cars jamming other roads. We can also wonder whether this policy may lead to a saturation of public transportation and then damage the transport quality ? ATM asserts the contrary. The money that is coming out of this congestion charge is precisely used to improve the existing service and to develop the networks. Since the creation of Area C and this is to be continued with Area B, the authority decided to increase the amount of trains and buses. Many of the criticisms were mainly about saying that only the rich people who can afford the authorized vehicles would be able to be mobile in the city center. Residents inside the area have 40 free access per year and a discounted fare of 2€. Since February, 25th 2018, Area B was created on a much larger area to restrict the access to the most polluting cars from Monday to Friday (7:30h-19:30h). This new area prevent several types of cars from entering this zone (Benzina Euro 0, Diesel Euro 0.1.2.3…) This car policy is highly polemical: it unleashes passion between the pros and cons. One of the most widespread criticism is the idea of authorities willing to make money out of ecology.
Fig. 2- Comune di Milano
Oppositions Area C In January of 2012, a resident chained herself for 12 hours to Palazzo Marino to protest against Area C policy and its 5€ charge. Rossella Lora Moretto of 50 years old, tied herself with a chain around her ankle to challenge the “Environmental useless policy”, asking to meet the mayor. The woman claims she lives in Moscova and that, as a commercial agent in the medical field, she is forced to drive around Lombardy. Finding herself “disgusted by politics”, the new congestion charge is : “unconstitutional because I have to be free to go home when I want for my two children, without being forced to pay”. From 7:30 to 19:30, she chained herself “every day until I get the face to face (with the mayor)”. “I do not make a political speech- she adds – But there are many people, even in the center, who cannot afford to pay”, claiming while holding a sign “Residents punished by the Area C”. Thankfully, after a meeting with the councilor of mobility Pierfrancesco Maran her day of protest was ready to finish. “He told me that there could be corrections, even for the residents of the center, and that they are available to listen and evaluate any kind of suggestion”, however she persists : “I am ready to resume my battle if I see that nothing will change”.
Area B There are numerous controversies by citizens who are convinced that Area B’s implementation is aimed at making money disguised into environmentalism. Blocking the most polluting vehicles was right but there was still some tension in the air remaining for all those who had let themselves be persuaded to switch to a LPG vehicle to find out later that even this type of mobility had been inserted on the payment area of Area C. Area B is then added to Area C that corresponds to almost the entire city of Milan, covering almost 72% of the total area. To avoid the issues of Area C, the municipality has provided 50 days of free circulation in the area starting from 2019. From the second year of this policy, residents will have 25 days a year of free admission, all the other only 5 days. Once this “bonus” days are over, the penalty of 80 euros will be effective Generating an obvious controversy among those who are in favor of limiting the access to the olds and most polluting vehicles, there are also those who debate this way of continuing to make cash with this policy, creating a conflict within the residents and the municipality.
How can the areas be controlled? Since January of this year, not only 185 signs were placed on all the 185 entry gates as 16 electronic video gates installed, and until December, other 73 electronic gates will get installed. Area C, with 8,2km2, has already 43 video gates installed since 2018, while Area B with 129km2, will wait until 2020 to have more 96 electric gates installed.
Fig. 3- Corriere Della Sera
Fig. 4- GoogleMaps Images
The car era is over : car use VS sustainability ? According to Stefano Riazzola (Head of Transportation planing), in 2011, 131 000 cars circulated every day in the city center against 88 000 cars today. It is told that there has been a 18 % reduction of fine particle pollution. This urban toll generates a 30 million income per year for the city. This last point is highly criticized. The slogan #MilanoCambiaAria seems to be the reflection of a sincere environmental concern, some citizens are convinced that this is all a huge mascarade consisting in stealing the inhabitants on the behalf of the environment. However, the World Health Organisation, after analysing data from 2016 and the 2017 smog crisis in Milan, placed the city as the second European city between Turin and Naples with the worst level of atmospheric pollution. In fact, Milan registered an average of 37 micrograms of PM10 particulate per cubic meter, which is definitely above the recommended maximum rate (20 micrograms). In a wider context and according to the European Environment Agency, Italy has indeed the highest rate of premature deaths from nitrogen dioxide air pollution in the EU. This gas comes mainly from diesel fumes and kills more than 20 000 people in Italy per year. The main issue, is that unlike other European countries, Italy has not set regulations nor banns for the sale of new diesel vehicles. In order to solve the problem, the solution of regulating traffic in big cities like Milan appears as highly relevant now. Despite these arguments, the controversy about the payment for circulating within specific areas of Milan is still an issue.
Fig. 5- Le Parisien images modified by the group
As we can see in this map, the C area is a Zone of Limited Traffic called Cerchia dei Bastioni. It is delimitated by 43 gates with surveillance cameras, which 7 of them are exclusively for public transportation use (yellow dots on the map). In fact, 13 bus lines, 12 tram lines and 3 metro lines pass through the area, entering and exiting via some roads in the south of Milan. As we can see in this map, the C area is a Zone of Limited Traffic called Cerchia dei Bastioni. It is delimitated by 43 gates with surveillance cameras, which 7 of them are exclusively for public Fig. 6- Comune di Milano transportation use (yellow dots on the map). In fact, 13 bus lines, 12 tram lines and 3 metro lines pass through the area, entering and exiting via some roads in the south of Milan.
Sources 1- https://www.comune.milano.it/aree-tematiche/mobilita/area-c 2- https://www.comune.milano.it/aree-tematiche/mobilita/area-b 3- https://milano.corriere.it/notizie/cronaca/18_ottobre_14/rete-telecamere-antismog4567-
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