Amsterdam Announces Tough Measures Against Large Polluting Cars - and exclude SUVs and diesel cars from the city altogether
Amsterdam wants to discourage driving by reducing the number of parking spaces. The city council executive intends to exclude SUVs and diesel cars from the city altogether. Amsterdam will reduce the number of parking spaces, charge higher prices for the remaining spaces and offer less reserved spaces for residents with a car. The council executive also plans to reduce the speed limit on the entire ring-road system to 80 kilometres an hour. Additionally, after 2010, only clean trucks will be allowed in the city. Owners of a SUV will in future no longer be eligible for a parking licence, according to the council. Earlier, Nijmegen tried to introduce a parking ban for SUVs, but the municipality had to drop this following a storm of criticism. Amsterdam however considers the polluting emissions by SUVs so high that the capital is making the same attempt. The banning of polluting vehicles is among 50 measures that Environmental Alderman H. Maij proposed yesterday to improve the air quality in the capital. The council executive is aiming to meet EU standards for air quality by 2010 via its package of measures. The EU standards are currently causing economic paralysis throughout the Netherlands because building projects are constantly being forbidden. Amsterdam plans to attain cleaner air also by using hydrogen buses and by installing carbon filters in cars and trucks. The city plans to give its civil servants a 'driving style' training course to teach them to drive economically. Citizens will be encouraged to take such a course.
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