York is one of the UK’s most historic cities. A walled city that, like many others, has made significant restrictions on traffic in the center to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. But now its authorities want to take the opportunity caused by the epidemic to ban access to cars with combustion engines immediately and permanently.
In this way, from the city council, they want to take advantage of a situation that has caused a drastic drop in traffic in the city, and has led them to enact regulations that will make York the first in the United Kingdom to close traffic to diesel and gasoline vehicles completely.
According to those responsible for the consistory will be easier to implement and to defend before the citizens, because of the current situation of less pollution and congestion within the city. Something from the authorities will also help tourism which each year brings 7 million people to visit this historic city.
A movement that was already contemplated in a project that sought that in 2023 only electric bikes and cars could be accessed. Now the local authorities want to accelerate to carry out coinciding with the end of the mobility restrictions due to the coronavirus. This would mean vetoing the access from next June.
It remains to be seen how residents react. Surveys show quite divided on these measures. According to a study of 1,682 adults in the city, it was found 53% agree to close the city center to non-essential vehicles once a week and favor transport by bicycle or on foot. For their part, 39% indicated that more should be invested in adapting public roads to systems such as bicycles.
Something that indicates there does not seem to be too much support for this radical measure that will undoubtedly change forever a city that wants to become the symbol of a new era where the combustion engine is not well received in the city center.