The day is here. The Benidorm City Council officially inaugurated the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) on Tuesday, July 1st, following repeated delays. After six months of gathering data, the key change was that violations could be fined. The local administration has issued nearly 4,000 special permits to use these routes, restricting their access.
According to this article, Benidorm City Council is mandated to adopt the LEZ (Least Developed Area) as a municipality with more than 50,000 inhabitants under the Climate Change and Energy Transition Law. The goal is to improve air quality while lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
To that goal, the City Council divided the municipality into three zones: Central, Eastern, and Western, each with 74 hectares. They have various access control systems and sensors in place to monitor their activities, including license plate readers to speed up the procedure.
But who can access the LEZ? Anyone registered in Benidorm can freely move, save in previously limited regions like Boca del Calvari and Armada Española. This provision also applies to those who are expressly authorised for the reasons stated above. To do so, they must have already submitted an application on the site, which was launched a few weeks ago. In addition, the City Council has a face-to-face support point where any queries about the measure can be addressed. According to Francis Muñoz, Councillor for Mobility, there has been an uptick in enquiries for this location during the past three weeks.
As a result, those who are registered in Benidorm and pay road tax in the town are exempt from any requirements, even if their house is outside of the impacted region. Those who are registered outside of the city but work in these regions of Benidorm or have a second abode may apply for a one-year permit. Aside from these two examples, the program considers using the town’s parking lots or shopping at local shops as a means of transportation, which is justified by a payment receipt.
Similarly, during this time, the Mobility Councillor informed Plaza that the City Council had authorised 90 groups to process permits for their guests. This mostly affects tourist accommodation companies’ guest check-in and check-out procedures. They have even created a separate platform for these treatments.
The LEZ covers a variety of situations, including visits from family and friends: occupants of the restricted region will be given 10 permits per month to assign to whatever vehicle they want. Non-residents who own a parking space will also be able to access it, but they must acquire permission to do so. Residents and workers in the area will now have exclusive access to the blue zone.
Sanctions under the Ordinance
The City Council approved an amendment to Mobility Ordinance No. 1 to facilitate the LEZ’s implementation. This amendment defines the conditions for compliance and the sanctions, which are outlined below. Failure to comply with the LEZ’s access, circulation, and parking limitations will result in a criminal offence. It specifically mentions failure to comply with the prohibition on driving or parking within the LEZ by vehicles not included in Annex V of the Ordinance or that, if included, lack the necessary authorisation, as well as the parking of vehicles belonging to LEZ residents that are not included in Annex V of this Ordinance or that, if included, lack the necessary authorisation when parked in a parking area that does not correspond to them.
This same legislation stipulates fines of 200 euros for major offences, which could be levied on individuals who fail to comply with the restrictions implemented on July 1st. “I hope and pray that no one needs to be fined because there has been more than enough time to register,” the mayor said.
Author: Derek Appleton
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