How far along are the policies implementing the national air plan in the Po Valley, Europe's most polluted area? We asked Marco Granelli and Tiziana Benassi, councillors for the municipalities of Milan and Parma.
Autumn arrives, and smog alerts go off across the Po Valley, due to intense anthropogenic pressures and frequent air stagnation conditions. Structural interventions are needed to prevent the tens of thousands of premature deaths and the health impacts on the very young, say doctors. Only from June 2019 did Italy equip itself with an Action Plan for the improvement of air quality, also to avoid further European sanctions for excessive levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter. Local policies to reduce atmospheric pollutants and the use of fossil fuels therefore remain decisive, starting with initiatives dedicated to sustainable mobility.
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Despite their different population densities — Milan has over one million two hundred thousand inhabitants, Parma almost 200,000 — both cities rank at the top of the national tables for breaches of the limits set for PM10 and ozone, in their respective regions (source: Legambiente's Mal'Aria report). What is actually being done to improve the air we breathe in these two cities and in the rest of the Po basin? We asked Marco Granelli, councillor for Mobility for the city of Milan, and Tiziana Benassi, councillor for Environmental Sustainability Policies for the city of Parma.
"Also because of its geographical shape, the Po Valley is subject to the accumulation of fine particles. It is no coincidence that Milan was the first municipality in Italy (and in Europe) to have banned cars from the city centre, including diesel vehicles up to and including Euro 4. It did so with area C, which has existed since 2011," Granelli points out. "Since 1 October last year, Euro 4 diesels, already banned in area C, have been prohibited from circulating throughout the entire city. Progressively from 2030, all diesel vehicles will be banned."
The measures adopted in Milan have not been enough to bring pollutant levels down. So much so that, under Mayor Sala, a new Urban Plan for Sustainable Mobility was launched in 2018, and the Milan administration is pursuing several strategies. As Granelli recalls, in the area corresponding to the Metropolitan City, there are as many as 5.6 million journeys every day. Of these, 56 per cent take place within the city and 44 per cent between Milan and the area outside the municipality, towards the provinces of Lodi, Pavia, Cremona, Varese, Como, Lecco and Bergamo.
"Public transport is the backbone of sustainable mobility: it is used by 57 per cent of Milan's residents, while for interchange journeys — between Milan and other municipalities — it accounts for 37 per cent." And of those who use it today, in 72 per cent of cases they travel on an electric vehicle, even though diesel buses remain, which ATM will phase out between now and 2030 — the councillor specifies. While the city has equipped itself with 4 metro lines and 4 tram-metro lines for a total of 127 km, 30 per cent of people still use their private car. A figure that doubles, rising to 58 per cent, for interchange journeys between Milan and surrounding municipalities.
This also explains the introduction of area B, the largest limited traffic zone (ZTL) in Europe, Granelli explains, which defines within the urban perimeter (approximately 72 per cent of the entire municipal territory) a low-emission zone. "After the first six months of area B being active, the fifteen camera-monitored access points recorded a decrease of around 13 per cent in vehicles entering the city. That is, 12,000 fewer average daily vehicle transits compared to the 89,000 recorded during the last week of January 2019," Granelli clarifies. [Photo AREA B e C allegata] "Shared mobility is also, in Milan, an established reality and encompasses diversified fleets of cars, cargo vehicles, scooters and bicycles. Electric micromobility devices will be added shortly. Several trials are under way, such as carpooling, to offer free parking to those who do not travel alone by car." Meanwhile, Granelli assures, work continues to develop Zone 30 areas, cycle paths and open squares. The latest development: 700 new e-bikes with pedal assist, free until January.
"The commitment of cities in the Po Valley must be double, triple that of others. We are geographically disadvantaged, but we must intervene more effectively. It is not true that we can do nothing," begins Tiziana Benassi. A smaller city than the Lombard capital but equally afflicted by smog, "Parma, while suffering from the same pollution problems as Milan, is, however, of a size that makes it possible to implement services and carry out trials. Simpler ones, also because local, extra-urban and suburban public transport is managed by companies owned by the municipality and the province," Benassi points out.
"This has already made it possible to renew the fleet of vehicles in circulation, something the residents had been calling for. We have invested 24 million euros and by 2020, in the urban area, we will have only electric and methane-powered vehicles and diesel vehicles above Euro 4. While the use of Euro 6 diesel vehicles is still necessary on the hilly stretches outside the city." Management oversight that is more complex in Milan, as councillor Granelli recalled. Only in 2018 did the municipality of Milan, the Metropolitan City and the Province of Monza and Brianza, through the Basin Agency for local public transport and together with the Lombardy Region, establish a single fare system. In the centre, no cars: only bike sharing and environmental islands. "In Parma, meanwhile, we are continuing to invest in cycling infrastructure and education in sustainability. This has allowed us to increase the use of bike sharing by 200 per cent in just the last year and a half, with forty docking stations to date. A service heavily used by commuters and students, made more widespread by encouraging use through a smartphone application. For annual subscribers, the use of bikes is free for the first thirty minutes, even multiple times a day. This means that in a city like ours, with a historic centre of 2.5 square kilometres, it is practically free." In addition, the Parma administration has entered into an agreement with the university to encourage the sustainable travel of 28,000 people every day. "Incentives ranging from reduced fares on new student season tickets to new night-time lines, the enhancement of services and new shuttle buses to the campus."
But the great topic of discussion in the 2020 capital of culture is the environmental islands across the entire historic centre, where cars are prohibited. "We need to ensure that residents enjoy public spaces, avoiding bringing cars into the centre. We have installed electronic access points precisely to reinforce that perception. This has meant involving all stakeholders, starting with trade representatives, shopkeepers and businesses." The discussion has also extended to the limited traffic zone, with discounted rates for those using low-environmental-impact vehicles.
"We also have our own area C, which corresponds to the ZTL around the historic centre. We are now planning a 'low emission zone', the equivalent of Milan's area B, within the ring road. Planned within the space of a year, it will lead to traffic restrictions linked to the environmental standards of the vehicles in circulation. Without forgetting the issue of enforcement. Milan is much further ahead than us; we are working on extending the automatic access points," Benassi concluded.
