Italians on Foot During Daytime Car, Scooter Ban
Date: 14-Feb-05
Country: ITALY
The stepped-up campaign came as many Italian cities fast approached their yearly limits for particulate matter emissions under European Union rules.
Each city is obliged to keep levels of small particles in the atmosphere below a set level for at least 330 days a year. But some of Italy's biggest urban centres, especially in the north, seem destined to miss that target as early as February.
Financial capital Milan has already nearly reached the yearly limit, exceeding the EU levels during 34 days up to Feb. 9, according to a study by Euromobility, published on its Internet site, www.euromobility.org. Other cities, including Turin have already surpassed the limit.
"We're not breaking the law. The EU rules require us to intervene, and we're intervening," Turin's Mayor Sergio Chiamparino, who proposed a multi-city auto ban, said in a newspaper interview published on Sunday.
Rome, which will ban cars and scooters again during the day in early March, may only exceed the limit on another 12 days for the rest of the year, according to Euromobility.
A study published last month found that nearly 4,000 Italians died each year due to diseases linked to air pollution.