Madrid plans for a car-free city centre by 2020
Madrid plans to ban cars from 500 acres of its city center by 2020, with urban planners redesigning 24 of the city’s busiest streets for walking rather than driving. The initiative is part of the city’s “sustainable mobility plan,” which aims to reduce daily car usage from 29% to 23%. Drivers who ignore the new regulations will pay a fine of at least $100. And the most polluting cars will pay more to park.
Paris to ban all cars made before 1997 from its city limits
In an effort to curb pollution Paris has started tp ban cars built before 1997 from driving within city limits. Vehicles registered before then — and motorcycles before 1999 — will now face modest, phased-in fines during weekday traffic between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., though they can drive freely into the city on weekends. By 2020, the ban will cover cars registered before 2010 (if you’re wondering how cops will identify the scofflaws, vehicles will now use window stickers classifying them by their pollution levels).
Cape Town’s new parking app a first for Africa
A new smartphone app seeks to take the frustration out of finding available parking in the city centre. Street Parking Solutions, which manages street parking in the Cape Town CBD, unveiled its ParkFind app. Now motorists will be able to find a parking bay quicker and pay for their parking through the app.
Addis transforms a dangerous intersection
’80 crashes in the last 6 months, some even fatal and injurious’. These numbers at LeGare intersection in Addis Ababa called for immediate action. Over 750 liters of paint was poured out to fill in the newly generated public spaces. 2000 sqm of public space was reclaimed from vacant areas, slip lanes, and under-utilized roadbed to help tighten the corner radii and shorten crossing distances.