Vicenza bans older cars in city

[unhappycamper]

Vicenza bans older cars in city
By Kent Harris, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Saturday, January 17, 2009

VICENZA, Italy — Hundreds of Americans with vehicles registered on Caserma Ederle are now prohibited from driving them into the downtown area for six hours a day during the work week.

The city of Vicenza has enacted a new air pollution ordinance that targets cars manufactured before 1997 and motorcycles produced before 2000. All such vehicles are prohibited from driving in a downtown area from 9 a.m. to noon and 3 to 6 p.m. on weekdays. Violators face a fine of 75 euros, according to the regulations that went into effect this week and last through April 10.

Cities across northern Italy have tried a variety of measures in recent years in order to try to comply with the country’s air standards. Milan enacted a similar ban last year and installed checkpoints and cameras to catch violators. Other cities have restricted traffic based on license plate numbers or allowed only residents with stickers to enter.

There are a variety of exceptions to the Vicenza rule — including car pools of at least three people and emergency vehicles — but Americans in general are not exempt. Almost 800 vehicles registered at Caserma Ederle were made between 1992 and 1996, according to figures provided by the base’s vehicle registration office.

The ordinance technically just targets vehicles from those years, but base officials are advising against driving even older cars in the area as well, said Jon Fleshman, a public affairs officer with U.S. Army Garrison-Vicenza. That would add another 300 vehicles to the list.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=60071