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The implementation of the Low Emissions Zone (ZBE) in central Torrevieja is facing at least a five-month delay.
Despite being legally required under European legislation, as Torrevieja has over 50,000 inhabitants, the City Council is moving slowly and has already missed the July 2024 deadline.
On April 12, the council approved a €90,000 contract to draft the ZBE project, which will take five months. However, they have yet to process the ordinance necessary to enforce the ZBE, which is expected to have minimal impact on drivers.
Previous studies to define the ZBE area and assess air quality were quietly commissioned, but results were not made public. It is understood, however, that the proposed zone will stretch from Calle Ramón Gallud to the waterfront promenades of Vista Alegre and La Libertad, including nearby roads, the aim being to integrate the ZBE with planned pedestrian zones and traffic limitations in the port area to minimize the impact on drivers.
Councillor Federico Alarcón argued there’s no urgent need for the ZBE because he believes air quality in Torrevieja is generally acceptable. However, official monitoring stations show that ozone and fine particle levels often exceed legal limits.
Torrevieja has about 60,000 registered vehicles, with major roads seeing up to 40,000 daily passes.
Despite delays, the city hasn’t been penalized for missing deadlines. Alarcón claims the €6.7 million in EU Next Generation funds received in 2022 for the ZBE and public transport have not been lost, even though the city has failed to justify about half of the spending and now has until June 2025 to use the rest.
Torrevieja’s relaxed approach reflects a broader trend across Spain, where only around only 24 cities had formally declared their ZBEs, many in a minimal or non-punitive way. with over 100 still in the planning stages and 13 yet to initiate the process.
Torrevieja appears likely to follow suit, with no sanctions or strict traffic restrictions expected. Mayor Eduardo Dolón had promised the ZBE would be ready by the end of 2024, but that deadline has also passed without progress.
In Orihuela the introduction is even further behind, with little known of it’s progress and no clear timeline for implementation.
Among the eight municipalities in Alicante province required to establish ZBEs, only half have approved ordinances, with Elda being the only one fully compliant, including enforcement measures.
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