Milan announces plan to ban cars from city centre in 2024
Milan is set to banish cars from its centre by the middle of next year amid rising emissions, Mayor Giuseppe Sala said on Thursday.
Important parts of Milan’s city centre will become more pedestrian-friendly under new plans intended to cut down on the city’s increasingly high carbon emissions, the mayor said.
The city’s upscale Fashion Quadrilatero up to Corso Matteotti, Via Case Rotte and Via Manzoni are expected to be freed from congestion within the first six months of next year.
“We, like Milan, must be pioneers and have the courage and common sense to do things,” he told reporters at a climate change festival in the city earlier, according to local media reports.
"It's a small thing, a historical thing. From there, then we will expand,” he added, hinting this reform will only be the first of its kind.
The ban will not apply to residents with a garage in the area, to emergency services and law enforcement, or taxis and public transport.
READ ALSO: Why is air pollution in northern Italy so bad?
The area will be monitored by cameras in Corso Venezia, starting from the intersection with Via Senato, with fines to be issued for anyone who breaks the rule once it has been implemented.
Sala said he had already discussed the idea with fashion houses in the area, saying a lot of them agreed with the idea and even argued to make it pedestrianised.
“I am not an antagonist of capitalism, but honestly seeing the parade of supercars in the centre which they then can't park can’t continue,” he said.
There was opposition to the idea from the mayor of Sesto San Giovanni, Roberto Di Stefano, a League party member, who said that after introducing traffic restrictions in Area B (a huge area in Milan) and Area C (spanning from Porta Sempione to Porta Romana), “Sala is now launching the idea of a Milan in which from 2024 no cars can circulate anymore."
READ ALSO: REVEALED: These are the most polluted towns in Italy
He called the move “an absurdity that penalises not only the Milanese, but all the citizens of the outskirts, who are forced to commute every day.”
The Europa Verde group leader, Carlo Monguzzi, recalled Sala saying earlier this month central roads would not be closed to cars.
"Today, 13 days later, he says he will close the Fashion District and then expand it", said Monguzzi.
The proposal comes just months after Sala announced a tariff increase in Area C.
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Important parts of Milan’s city centre will become more pedestrian-friendly under new plans intended to cut down on the city’s increasingly high carbon emissions, the mayor said.
The city’s upscale Fashion Quadrilatero up to Corso Matteotti, Via Case Rotte and Via Manzoni are expected to be freed from congestion within the first six months of next year.
“We, like Milan, must be pioneers and have the courage and common sense to do things,” he told reporters at a climate change festival in the city earlier, according to local media reports.
"It's a small thing, a historical thing. From there, then we will expand,” he added, hinting this reform will only be the first of its kind.
The ban will not apply to residents with a garage in the area, to emergency services and law enforcement, or taxis and public transport.
READ ALSO: Why is air pollution in northern Italy so bad?
The area will be monitored by cameras in Corso Venezia, starting from the intersection with Via Senato, with fines to be issued for anyone who breaks the rule once it has been implemented.
Sala said he had already discussed the idea with fashion houses in the area, saying a lot of them agreed with the idea and even argued to make it pedestrianised.
“I am not an antagonist of capitalism, but honestly seeing the parade of supercars in the centre which they then can't park can’t continue,” he said.
There was opposition to the idea from the mayor of Sesto San Giovanni, Roberto Di Stefano, a League party member, who said that after introducing traffic restrictions in Area B (a huge area in Milan) and Area C (spanning from Porta Sempione to Porta Romana), “Sala is now launching the idea of a Milan in which from 2024 no cars can circulate anymore."
READ ALSO: REVEALED: These are the most polluted towns in Italy
He called the move “an absurdity that penalises not only the Milanese, but all the citizens of the outskirts, who are forced to commute every day.”
The Europa Verde group leader, Carlo Monguzzi, recalled Sala saying earlier this month central roads would not be closed to cars.
"Today, 13 days later, he says he will close the Fashion District and then expand it", said Monguzzi.
The proposal comes just months after Sala announced a tariff increase in Area C.
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