Following numerous episodes of pollution in the Arve valley, 40 municipalities have decided to challenge the State and request the funds necessary to set up a “low emission zone”.
Repeated episodes of pollution, thick clouds of fine particles, a last five-day long red vigilance… The atmospheric quality in the Arve valley, in Haute-Savoie, has been a particular problem since the start of the winter.
Instructions are regularly sent to users during vigilance. But nothing helps: on the borders of the Alps, at the foot of the largest mountains in France, the quality of the air is regularly degraded.
To deal with this situation, 40 municipalities have decided to challenge the State and ask it for the funds necessary to set up a “low emission zone” (ZFE).
The implementation of a ZFE has one objective: to reduce the impact of road traffic in the Arve Valley
Press release from the presidents of the communities of communes of Mont-Blanc.
This letter, signed by the presidents of the five communities of municipalities in the Arve valley, is addressed to Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, Minister Delegate for Transport, as well as to Barbara Pompili, Minister for Ecological Transition.
“The implementation of a ZFE has one objective: to reduce the impact of road traffic in the Arve Valley. It has a very high cost: modal shift, conversion of the car fleet, alternative energies, infrastructure links , support for the railway offer…”, indicates a press release from the communities of municipalities published Thursday, January 20.
“Elected officials are asking, on behalf of their population and its health, for participation in the considerable effort they intend to undertake”, continues the document.
In particular, the support of the “Fund for the development of an intermodal transport policy in the Alpine Massif” (FDPITMA) is requested. Created in 2002, this fund aims to regulate the circulation of transport and favors the modal shift from road to rail.
A red pollution vigilance had been lifted, this Thursday, January 20, after five days of alert. The prefecture of Haute-Savoie had notably mentioned a “exceptional situation”.
The concentrations of pollutants in the air were very marked, affecting a large part of the territory. Several control operations had also been carried out during the pollution peak in order to “Enforce speed limits and differentiated traffic for heavy goods vehicles”.
“Needless to say that the Minister’s response is eagerly awaited in the Arve Valley”, concludes the press release from the presidents of the communities of municipalities, this January 20.