Organizers of the Olympics said yesterday Beijing would ban half the city’s vehicles from the roads during the Games.
Vehicles will be allowed on the road on alternate days — depending on even or odd registration numbers — for a two-month period from July 20 until Sept. 20.
Taxis, buses and emergency vehicles are exempted. Some heavy polluting vehicles and those carrying dangerous substances will be banned altogether beginning on July 1.
PHOTO: AFP
The plan will also prohibit most vehicles entering he city from outside Beijing. These vehicles will need special permits and will need to meet air quality standards.
The Beijing Olympics take place from Aug. 8 to Aug. 24 followed by the Paralympics from Sept. 6 to Sept. 17.
A similar plan was tested last summer in a four-day period. Beijing officials were set to unveil the complete plan later yesterday.
Five days after the July 20 ban goes into effect, special Olympic traffic lanes will begin operating and will stay in place until Sept. 25. The city will set aside 265km of roadway, where certified Olympic vehicles will be allowed to move from hotels, Olympic venues and the Athletes Village. The average speed is expected to be 35kph.
Setting aside special lanes, which has been done in previous Olympics, is the only way to move traffic through Beijing’s chaotic, crowded road system.
Beijing officials announced several months ago that during the same two-month period, most construction in the city will halt, heavy industries will close and even spray painting will stop — all measures meant to clean Beijing’s notoriously polluted air.
Some reports have suggested that production cutbacks will come even sooner.
A deadly earthquake last month and fierce, pro-Tibet protests on international legs of the Olympic torch relay have removed some of the scrutiny from Beijing’s chronic air pollution. However, air quality still remains an issue for the Games.
Many international athletes are choosing to train away from Beijing and enter just before competing, and others may wear facemasks while moving around the city. The world’s greatest distance runner, Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia, has decided not to run the Olympic marathon because the city’s pollution irritates his breathing.
International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge has said outdoor endurance events lasting more than an hour will be postponed if air quality is poor.
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