Alicante's Low Emission Zone Will Have Capacity to Install Up to 300 Control Cameras

The upcoming January 1st will see the implementation of the Alicante Low Emission Zone. This regulation is mandatory for cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants across Spain, and in Alicante, it will feature three rings with varying levels of restriction.

For its launch, the city has over 70 cameras - 50 around the Gran Vía belt and 20 scattered throughout the center. However, an infrastructure of 32 fiber optic lines has been deployed, capable of supporting up to 300 surveillance devices throughout the municipality.

The ZBE divides the city into three rings. The first encompasses Alicante's old town, popularly known as 'El Barrio'. This area covers more than 10 hectares, located between Rambla de Méndez Núñez, Jaime II Avenue, the slope of Santa Bárbara Castle, and Jorge Juan and Altamira streets.

The second ring corresponds to Alicante's traditional center. The boundaries will be marked by major roads such as Alfonso el Sabio, Gadea promenade, and Puerto Avenue.

Lastly, the third ring encompasses all neighborhoods within the Gran Vía. It includes the entire center, as well as areas like San Blas, Carolinas, or El Pla.

The government team announced that the ZBE would not have new restrictions in the city, an agreement reached with Vox to secure approval. However, the existing restrictions in the old town will remain.

In Ring I, traffic will be highly restricted according to the ordinance, as is currently the case. Only registered residents, property owners, or garage owners, regardless of whether they have the DGT environmental badge, will be allowed access. Additionally, private garage owners within this area, as well as parking space tenants inside the ZBE, will have access. All vehicles and motorcycles with an environmental badge B, C, ECO, or ZERO, that are already authorized, will have access to this ZBE, and people with reduced mobility must register on the ZBE management platform to gain access.

Conversely, in Rings II (Traditional Center) and III (Gran Vía), circulation will be free, without restrictions or penalties. All vehicles with an environmental label have automatic access to these rings. These areas will be used for monitoring, study, and data collection, aiming to manage city mobility more efficiently and support future decision-making by various municipal services.

In the case of Ring I, fines will continue as before and could reach up to 200 euros for those entering the Old Town without the necessary authorization.

In Rings II (Traditional Center) and III (Gran Vía), things will remain as they are. The ordinance does not foresee any penalty for access. Nor is any prior authorization required to enter the inner areas of these two.

However, the ZBE project does include temporary access restrictions in specific areas and during certain times if pollution levels exceed the permitted limits in any of Alicante's ZBE rings. This measure aims to prevent traffic congestion in these areas.

If necessary, these measures will be applied in phases, limiting access to the most polluting vehicles during air pollution episodes. Although no penalties are planned.

In the city, there are 70 cameras installed monitoring access to the different ZBE rings, each with varying levels of control depending on the recorded pollution. Through these control points, it is possible to identify the entry and exit times of a vehicle. This information is useful for determining the length of stay within the ZBE, identifying, among other things, vehicles that do not comply with the regulations.

Additionally, a regulation of loading and unloading spaces within the Low Emission Zone is proposed, with control of access and exit points, ZBE stay times, access schedules, parking time control, and space usage forecasting; this will facilitate more optimal delivery routes for goods vehicles, reducing trips in search of parking and repetitive delivery trips in the same area.

Another novelty that the ZBE application brings in Alicante is the launch of an app that will allow citizens to interact quickly and efficiently with the access management platform.

On this platform, residents can consult useful information, request or check the status of their permits, delegate the management of their competencies to a third party or legal representative, configure notifications and alerts, make inquiries and suggestions, and consult the ZBE perimeter on the street map.

The public website, and by extension its associated app for Alicante's ZBE, includes all the functionalities a citizen might require in their interaction with the access management platform.

The Low Emission Zone also includes changes for goods distribution in the city. The new regulation establishes a network of collection points to restructure the messaging configuration, creating generic delivery points where residents near that delivery node send their orders. This will generate less vehicle traffic in the area, optimizing Urban Goods Distribution (UGD).

With the application of the ZBE, in Ring 2: Traditional Center, authorized distribution permits will be granted - which can be requested on the platform and extended to private companies within the scope. Loading and unloading permits can also be processed through the app.

Authorized distribution will allow for the establishment of distribution routes in areas where public activities are concentrated. Distribution hubs will be established in municipal buildings within the central ring. These spaces will be for administrative use but also for private use by public officials and related workers. This aims to reduce emissions caused by redundant trips in search of parking or suitable space for unloading.

In the case of the Old Town, due to its layout, it is impossible to locate these distribution spaces. In this ring, the access control already implemented in the area will be maintained.