About half a million diesel cars manufactured before January 1, 2002, will be driven out of the centers of big cities. This will happen during the periods with the dirtiest air during the winter months. Measures aimed at air pollution will be implemented first in Sofia and later in Plovdiv, Burgas, Varna and other cities where there is a problem with the concentration of fine dust particles, the Telegraph reports.
The changes come after mayors have been allowed to create low-emission zones since the beginning of the year, as well as impose banning and restrictive measures to keep the air clean in their municipalities.
They will be able to use automated technical means of control, such as smart cameras, and will have the right to access data on cars from the traffic police and traffic police registers.
For Sofia, from the end of 2020 it is clear that there will be two zones, the first will cover the ideal center and the second – the wide. The control infrastructure in them has already been installed and tested, and 180 cameras capable of reading car numbers are ready to work.
This can happen as soon as the Sofia Municipal Council adopts an ordinance that will determine when the zones will work and what kind of cars will not be allowed in them during this time. The ordinance is expected to be adopted after the middle of the year, when all cars in our country will have acquired their uniform environmental category, for which since July last year the so-called eco-stickers.
It is the eco-category that will be the criterion for deciding which cars will not have access to the zones.
It is almost certain that for Sofia the ban will cover eco-category 1.
It includes all diesel cars manufactured before January 1, 2002, as well as gasoline cars from before January 1, 1996. According to the State Automobile Inspectorate, there are about 500,000 diesel cars in this category. Another 300,000 are gasoline cars. What will be the sanctions for each car of these categories that entered the center remains to be decided. However, they are expected to be from BGN 50 to BGN 500 for individuals and from BGN 200 to BGN 1,000 for legal entities.
It remains to be seen when the bans will take effect. It is only certain that it will be in the winter – the season with the dirtiest air.
“Initially, the idea was to activate the zones on days with extremely high levels of pollution. However, this creates the problem that all drivers have to find out on a daily basis which days are banned and which are not.
Separately, this method, according to environmentalists, does not have a really strong impact on air purity. It will be far more effective if the ban is for a certain period of time.
Whether it will be a month, two or for the whole winter period, it is yet to be subjected to expert discussion “, the chairman of the transport commission at the Sofia Municipal Council Zafir Zarkov told” Telegraf “. According to him, no restrictive measures have been discussed so far for the owners of polluting cars who live in the areas themselves and most likely they will be able to use them without fees and sanctions.
BGN 50 fine for an old fire extinguisher
A penalty of BGN 50 will be imposed on any driver who drives a car equipped with an incorrect or unattended fire extinguisher. This is stated in a draft amendment to the Road Traffic Act, prepared by an interdepartmental group and published for public discussion.
The envisaged amendments aim to regulate which types of vehicles and which fire extinguishers they must have in accordance with the applicable technical regulations. A certain type of fire extinguisher will be required for each vehicle category. The most common, for example, for cars, will be powder, with 1 kg of extinguishing agent.
In Burgas they calm the cars for fresh air
The Municipality of Burgas has taken measures to reduce air pollution even before the entry into force of the provisions of the Clean Air Act (AACA), which entitles municipalities to apply various measures. So far, a ban on cars entering the center of the seaside town is not envisaged, but other restrictions have been made, the Municipality of Burgas announced. One of them is the introduction of “calm zones”, in which the maximum speed of cars is limited to 30 km / h.
“With the introduction of these calm areas, cars are moving slowly, thus preventing sudden stops and sudden starts. And the lack of abrupt stops and starts leads to a reduction in exhaust gases from cars, “explained Vesna Baltina, deputy mayor for Strategic Development and Ecology, Digitalization and Adaptation to Climate Change.
Plovdiv will gain experience from European cities
Plovdiv will introduce low-emission zones in order to achieve normal air purity indicators. An assignment has been prepared, which is coordinated with RIEW – Plovdiv and by the end of January 2022 after conducting a procedure under the Public Procurement Act is expected to conclude a contract with a contractor to argue and prepare a mechanism for introducing a zone or zones of low emissions in Plovdiv.
At the same time, the Municipality of Plovdiv initiated a forum to which experts from Bulgaria and abroad will be invited (confirmed online participation from Krakow, Poland) to share their experiences. It is also expected that the restriction will first cover eco-category cars 1.
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