Benidorm addresses the problem of loading and unloading with the sector's employers with the arrival of the Low Emissions Zone

Benidorm City Council has begun to hold meetings with an eye toward the upcoming entry into force of the Low Emissions Zone (ZBE) in the city. One of these meetings has taken place with ADISLEV, the association that includes companies that distribute beverages and food to hotels and restaurants in the Valencian Community to analyze the problems that arise with loading and unloading spaces and the parking difficulty that companies in the Urban Merchandise Distribution sector have.

As explained by the Councilor for Mobility, Francis Muñoz, “We are taking the necessary steps to have everything under control when the ZBE comes into force.” In that sense, he specified "We will evaluate the requests and proposals that have been made to us to try to make them compatible with the ZBE and study all possibilities for improvement."

One of the issues that have been analyzed is the peculiarity that in Benidorm “the urban distribution of goods is closely linked to the ZBE because it is in the centre of the city where the largest number of hospitality establishments, restaurants, shops, etc and that is where the problems are concentrated,” said Muñoz.

The objective is to “improve and optimize the use of loading and unloading to facilitate delivery to the city's hospitality and catering industry.” At that point, it was proposed to advance the start of the loading and unloading schedule, a possibility that "in no case would affect Armada Española Avenue," according to the councillor.

Also on the table was the plan to implement a reservation system for loading and unloading points within the ZBE to optimize the use of these points. The sector, for its part, has been “aware of the need to reduce emissions”. However, they need aid and subsidies to renew fleets because the price of truck rental has risen by more than 15% and the delivery time for new vehicles takes a year and a half or two.

Likewise, they have requested “time flexibility and exemptions” to carry out their work and consider the weight limitation “counterproductive” because, in their opinion, it would imply more trucks, more emissions and more occupation of loading and unloading areas. In this sense, they advocate 7.5-ton trucks, which are equivalent to eight vans or three 3.5-ton trucks.