The town hall of Reims has decided to postpone the implementation of the ban on vehicles with the Crit’Air 3 sticker.
A few weeks after Lyon, it is Reims’ turn to review the schedule of traffic bans in its Low Emission Zone. As a reminder, since January 1, 2022, Crit’Air 5 vehicles and unclassified vehicles have been banned. Then it was the turn of the Crit’Air 4 on September 1, 2022, with however a period of pedagogy before the start of the verbalization on January 1, 2023.
The next step was to be the banning of Crit’Air 3, scheduled for 2024. Reims decided to reconsider this step. Earlier this week, the mayor of Reims, Arnaud Robinet, and the president of Greater Reims, Catherine Vautrin, announced the establishment of a five-year moratorium for this measure. It will therefore not apply before 2029!
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If elected officials have decided to slow down, it is because the air quality has improved. Arnaud Robinet explained during a press conference: “Atmo’s results show that the air quality in Reims has improved significantly. We are below the famous 40 micrograms of nitrogen dioxide per cubic meter [d’air] ». Regularly exceeding this threshold had led Reims to be targeted (along with other cities in France) by a conviction from the Court of Justice of the European Union (in 2019).
At the microphone of RMCArnaud Robinet also highlighted the unpopular aspect of EPZs: “We can consider that this measure is a bit anti-social, we can say that because those who have old vehicles are those who do not necessarily have the means to change their vehicle and those who need their vehicle the most. car to get to work.
The mayor will therefore continue to educate, stressing that in the end, no report was drawn up, the drivers at fault had the right to explanations on the ZFE. And he indicates that this will continue. A “ZFE pass” will allow drivers of vehicles already banned to come to the ZFE 52 times a year. Arnaud Robinet also wants to bet on support, with enhanced aid for changing vehicles.
However, he will remain vigilant: “If during the five-year moratorium, the air quality deteriorates, of course we will reconsider this decision”.
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