Car use was restricted in Central Madrid during the 2018/2019 Christmas period leading to a significant increase in pedestrian footfall and spending, partly due to a decrease in air pollution
Ayuntamiento de Madrid
Fines for motorists entering central Madrid have been reinstated by a judge, a week after a low emission zone policy had been suspended. The new conservative mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, had shelved a clean-air initiative known as Madrid Central, but following a spike in air pollution a court has reimposed the restrictions on motor traffic.
The City of Madrid’s imposition of a “low-emission zone” last Christmas also resulted in increased takings for shops and restaurants because people found it more pleasurable to visit Central Madrid thanks to restrictions on motor traffic.
According to a report in El Pais, emissions of nitrogen oxide fell by 38% in Madrid’s center the first month the program was implemented, while carbon dioxide emissions dropped by 14.2%.
The report, based on a study by the Technical University of Madrid, found that emissions also fell across the city, with NOx and CO2 emissions falling by 9% and 2%, respectively, in December.
Madrid closed its central business district to cars for the first time during the 2018 Christmas period and an analysis informed by Spain’s second largest bank found that, year-on-year, till transactions were significantly boosted by the measure.
Twenty million anonymized transactions were analyzed by the bank and Madrid city council, and it was discovered that the decision to limit road access to the city center by motorists led to a 9.5% increase in retail takings on Madrid’s main shopping street, the Gran Vía.
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria – better known as BBVA – compared the 2018 takings with retail data from two previous Christmas periods, and found a 3.3% increase in spending across the whole of Madrid thanks to the restriction on car use in the central area. The study, carried out in association with the City of Madrid, measured sales between December 1, 2018 and January 7, 2019.
Madrid Central was introduced by Martínez-Almeida’s left-wing predecessor, Manuela Carmena, in November to meet EU rules on clean air.
Following the lifting of the motor traffic restrictions air pollution levels spiked, leading to street protests. The Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, along with a number of environmental organisations, appealed against the lifting of the ban.
In deciding the case in favor of the protesters, the judge said the “health of [people in] Madrid” was more important than the “right to travel by car,” and reversed Martínez-Almeida’s decision.
