When will the low emission zones for vehicles start operating in Malaga city and the larger towns on the Costa del Sol?

In addition to the implementation of the low emission zone for vehicles (known as ZBEs in Spanish) in Malaga city this autumn, SUR decided to investigate how this requirement was progressing with the other provincial municipalities of 50,000-plus inhabitants. After all, these are the ones that need to hurry up with the application of these European and national measures. The vast majority are behind schedule.

• Explained: how to get a low emission zone sticker in Spain

The measures proposed are generally the same as in the big cities across Spain, namely that the traffic-restricted areas are designed to favour local residents over outsiders in terms of access and that adaptation periods are applied without fines.

Estepona was the first municipality to get its act together. It did so in the last quarter of last year, taking advantage of the intense transformation of its centre that was already underway. The measure is being implemented in three phases. The ZBE in Estepona covers 60 hectares and next year the aim is to prevent B and B-labelled vehicles from accessing it. The boundary is Avenida de Andalucía, the streets of Tajo and Pilar de Farinós, Avenida de San Lorenzo and the waterfront.

In Marbella, just a few weeks later, the chosen measures were approved. During this first year no fines will be issued pending studies on air quality and the drafting of an ordinance (local bye-law). The restrictions will apply in Marbella's old town and in the centre of San Pedro Alcántara. The idea is that all vehicle classes will be allowed to circulate at first, but then B-rated vehicles will end up losing privileges.

In Fuengirola, the ZBE has already been approved, but it will not imply any change for drivers because the town hall has declared that most areas in the ZBE are already semi-pedestrianised and therefore restricted for vehicles. The ZBE amounts to 100,000 square metres distributed over 18 pockets of land, all in the town centre.

Mijas, following the Ombudsman's warning and the change of municipal government, has begun to activate the procedures to implement its own ZBE. The study to determine the area to be covered by these restrictions and the measures to be taken has been completed, and the specifications for the necessary work and actions are also being prepared. It may take a year for all restrictions to be applied in the locality.

In Benalmádena, the latest official information available is that the town hall was going to start, either under its own means or with an external company, the process of measuring and studying to determine the area needed for traffic restriction. Thus far none of these findings have been made public, so the delay is obvious.

In Torremolinos implementation of the ZBE is expected for the beginning of next year. According to municipal sources, the ordinance will be definitively approved in October and there will be a period without sanctions, as expected. They admit some delays due to technological and IT issues, something that has also occurred in Malaga city due to the supply bottleneck caused by the high demand for contracts at national level. The ZBE includes Avenida de los Manantiales, in the section between Plaza Costa del Sol and Isabel Manoja, María Barrabino, Eduardo Aguilera Romero, Maestra Miret, Río Aranda, Río Arba, Madre del Buen Consejo, Río Salazar, Río Mesa, Río Subordán, Ramal de los Manantiales and the final section of Calle Hoyo. Its application will be progressively tightened until 2029. There will be restrictions in the first years especially for B-rated vehicles, but again the town's residents will have much more time to adapt to the situation.

Rincón de la Victoria has entered the public consultation phase of the plan on which the development of the ZBE will be based. It will be an area of 9 hectares and also controlled by cameras, as in most cases needing a sophisticated monitoring system. The nucleus in which it will start is the main one, Rincón, with checkpoints in Plaza de la Constitución, between Corta, Virgen de la Candelaria and Avenida del Mediterráneo.

Vélez Málaga is also far from implementing the ZBE, as the study commissioned by the previous municipal government is currently being reviewed.