News during 2020 in Madrid Central

Central Madrid, 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 Plan A for Air Quality and Climate Change of the city of Madrid, being studied over the last few months with the sole mission of verifying the positive effect it has on the city center. With the intention of improving this measure, some relevant changes have been included, to reduce traffic in the most polluting vehicles, promote public transport and promote pedestrian and cycling mobility in the area. For all these reasons, we started to develop the most important changes after the last agreement under the mayor of Mr. Almeida.

New roads of free movement

As of January 1st, the streets of Mártires de Alcalá and Seminario de Nobles, where the largest number of fines are collected, due to traffic confusion, they have been eliminated from the Madrid Central perimeter, so they are free to circulate. As stated before, this modification of the area of Central Madrid, after a detailed study, and from which it has been concluded that it was necessary to improve the current road planning of the area so as to facilitate communication between the neighborhood of Argüelles and the neighborhoods of Gaztambide and Arapiles, in order, of course, to reduce circulatory routes and reduce circulatory congestion and environmental pollution. With this change, the number of routes that used to be taken from Princesa Street also decreases to be able to make the turn in Alberto Aguilera, reducing traffic on both roads.

Change of time for access to motorcycles

Another amendment to the December 2019 agreement for this year 2020 is the change of extended access hours for delivery motorcycles. Access to the Centro district is allowed to motorcycles, mopeds and tricycles that provide courier and home delivery services from 7:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m., until December 31, 2020.

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

Access is also extended until that same date to different classes or types of vehicles with environmental label As can be cranes and workshop vehicles for the purpose of road assistance. A relevant change, such as access to tourism-type vehicles in commercial, restaurant and hospitality establishments located in the interior of Central Madrid, PROVIDED that access is processed by authorization through one of the Associations that represent the businesses of Central Madrid. In addition, it is included in this moratorium, special vehiclessuch as military personnel, vehicle carriers, swingarms, armored vehicles, funeral homes, trawlers, concrete mixers, mud extractors, pumps and others. Finally, those vehicles that carry and pick up students of nursery schools, schools and institutes of early childhood, primary and secondary education located in the area of Central Madrid.

Special tourist and public vehicles

For the time being, it has been clarified, what happens to the vehicles of working people in Central Madrid with night hours, very different from what happens with those who have a morning schedule, which has not been discussed or included in this last agreement. They can access Central Madrid, tourist-type vehicles with the A badge for working people In Madrid Central whose starting or ending time of the working day is between midnight and 6.30 a.m.; vehicles that access repair shops located in the area; service lawyers' vehicles on duty duty to access police stations located in the districts of Centro and Retiro, until December 31, 2020. On the other hand, essential public service vehicles and those of public administrations and its contractors, labeled or not, with a badge A, as long as the provider justifies the impossibility of offering the service with another type of vehicle, either because it binds it to a contract during its term or because there is no such type of vehicle in categories 0 emissions, ECO, C or B, they will be able to access beyond December 31 of this year. In addition, for the assignment of parking space permits, if greater than 25 square meters, will be carried out in sections of 10 useful meters and the City Council will verify ex officio the registration with the IAE in cases of registrations of service or supply companies (until now it was requested that interested parties be responsible for indicating under which headings of the IAE they were registered).

Impossibility of access to polluting vehicles

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

Prohibition of parking in the SER

The above restrictions will also affect residents' polluting vehicles, who will not be able to park in the SER zone in another neighborhood other than the one in which they are registered, not even in private car parks. Therefore, since January 1, vehicles with an environmental label are prohibited from parking in the Regulated Parking Service (SER) area, except in the neighborhood where they are registered. It will be necessary to see how these modifications are developed and how they affect the city center, but it is not ruled out that once time and months go by, the development of this measure will evolve and include new changes, with the main purpose of improving the circulation and reduce environmental pollution.

Pilar Mata (T&L Attorney)