On this week’s Inside Spain we take a look at how all motorway drivers may quickly be charged 3 cents per kilometre and why Madrid is closing its inexperienced areas in the course of its scorching summer season.
Spain is the European nation with probably the most free freeway kilometres in all of Europe, one thing drivers within the nation are definitely grateful for.
Nevertheless, for a while the European Union has been pushing Spanish authorities to alter this actuality, their principal demand being that Spain cost drivers for each kilometre pushed on its autopistas (highways).
To this point, the Transport Ministry headed by Óscar Puente has refused so as to add new tollways to the nation’s community, though the EU has threatened penalties if Spain’s ruling Socialists didn’t implement such a system.
However now one of many nation’s largest development conglomerates (Seopan) can also be stressing the necessity for a pay-per-kilometre system.
Their argument is that they want the toll cash to take care of the present street community and proceed increasing it, and that drivers must be serving to to cowl the €11.4 billion funding shortfall.
Commercial
At present, the upkeep of the Spanish street community is financed virtually solely by the general public funds, which signifies that the whole monetary burden falls on taxpayers, even when they do not use the roads, diverting public sources from different areas comparable to pensions, healthcare and schooling.
Seopan’s proposal is to cost drivers on Spain’s complete freeway community 3 cents/km.
That may make a drive from Madrid to Barcelona value €18 in tolls, or Bilbao to Cádiz – crossing the nation from north to south – €30.
Heavy transport comparable to vans would pay far more, 14 cents/km, which would definitely add to the journey prices of lorry drivers.
Commercial
Seopan additionally argues that the present mannequin creates “territorial inequality,” as Spain is the one main EU nation whose street community is usually toll-free.
In actual fact, it accounts for 68 p.c of toll-free motorway kilometres throughout the bloc. In contrast, 19 EU nations have 100% tolled freeway networks.
Holding in thoughts that Brussels holds the important thing to billions of euros of restoration funds which are supposed to be despatched to Spain, it might not be lengthy earlier than Madrid has no alternative however to budge.
One factor is for certain, the nation’s 28 million drivers received’t be completely happy about having to pay peajes (tolls in Spanish).
In utterly completely different issues, anybody who’s been within the Spanish capital throughout summer season is aware of how suffocating it will possibly get.
Despite the fact that it’s a dry warmth, all that concrete and lack of a sea breeze make strolling the streets of Madrid really feel like being on the earth’s largest oven.
A should for a lot of Madrileños throughout summer season is to spend time resting underneath the cooling cover of Madrid’s iconic Retiro Park, a inexperienced ‘lung’ within the centre of town.
Commercial
Sadly, Madrid Metropolis Corridor has determined to shut the gates to the park simply because the mercury was nearing 40C on a number of events this week.
Neighbours have stated that it “goes in opposition to frequent sense” however mayor José Luis Almeida claims “it’s for individuals’s security”.
The rationale for cordonning off not simply El Retiro however all of Madrid’s principal parks is that, fairly than bushes offering a lot wanted shade, authorities are nervous that they might fall on parkgoers.
READ ALSO: Seven places to escape the heat in Madrid
In line with the Metropolis Council, the Retiro Park is closed 1 p.c of the time annually resulting from purple climate alerts, and it’s exactly throughout that quick window of time that 80 p.c of fallen branches and bushes happen.
Nevertheless, respected media shops comparable to information company Europa Press and information web site El Periódico de España have discovered that Madrid’s inexperienced areas have been closed much more usually than that, particularly in the course of the summer season interval.
If temperatures are above 35C and there are winds above 55km/h forecast, Madrid restricts entry to its parks.
However that doesn’t persuade residents of the Spanish capital, who really feel that defending themselves from dangerously excessive temperatures is a much bigger precedence throughout summer season than the chance of falling branches.
Madrid’s opposition have referred to as for a revision of the protocol.
The factor is, the present right-wing authorities of Madrid metropolis and Madrid Group (who has Isabel Díaz Ayuso as its head) have a little bit of a unfavorable status in the case of offering shade and chopping down bushes.
They’ve most popular to put in awnings within the central Puerto del Sol sq. at a price of €1.5 million fairly than planting bushes, they usually’ve beforehand been accused of chopping down thousands of trees, exacerbating the ‘warmth dome’ downside that Madrid suffers from.
READ MORE: ’63C in Plaza Mayor’ – Greenpeace calls for return of Madrid’s trees