- The aim of the new measure is to reduce the use of private transport and to mitigate the seriousness of accidents.
The new Mobility Area measure, which reduces the speed to 30 kilometres per hour throughout Bilbao, is already in force. The decision has generated tension between the population and many positions. According to the call, citizens see this limit "with good eyes", which is generally being recorded in Catalonia. According to the majority of citizens, "it will improve the environment of capital" and "take cars off the main roads".
Drivers who travel to the workplace, taxi drivers and other services that have to travel around the city, for their part, are opposed.
The City of Bilbao has been convinced that the measure will be effective after the first few days. Mobility councilor Alfonso Gil said that "if we manage to avoid a single death, it deserves it".
🅱️3️⃣0️⃣ If we travel with our vehicle or a public vehicle 30 kilometers an hour along the streets of #Bilbao, we will all win. Guides and passersby.#En Bilbao30Revalid #Bilbao30 pic.twitter.com/aiXjsiGmRU
— Bilbao [Udala - City Hall] (@bilbao_udala) September 18, 2020
The Spanish Directorate General of Traffic and the World Health Organization (WHO) have justified the decision with a study on accidents and speed carried out in 2011. The report points out that the risk of death from collision is reduced at least five times if the vehicle's collision speed is 30 km/h instead of 50 km/h.
Results of the experiment
It also reduces the risk of serious injuries by 3% and the risk of a fatal accident by 4%. Furthermore, noise pollution also falls, from 33% to 6%. The level of nitrogen dioxide would also decrease (in Berlin, for example, around 10-15%), there are fewer bottlenecks, the circulation is more fluid, as the speed of circulation of cars and other types of users is similar. In Madrid, almost half of the deaths in traffic are, for example, injured pedestrians.