THE PORTUGUESE national association of municipal câmaras (ANMP) has denied that it is negotiating with the government on the possibility of introducing congestion charges for motorists.
The idea of levying fees on cars entering city centres to reduce congestion and carbon dioxide and monoxide emissions was mooted by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Nunes Correia, according to the Portuguese newspaper, Jornal de Negócios.
In a statement the ANMP said: “There is no process of negotiation either with the Secretary of State for the Environment or Transport to create tolls at the entry of cities.”
Rejection
On the same day, the Secretary of State for the Environment also rejected the existence of “any firm proposal”, stating that “informal contacts” had been made with representatives from the metropolitan areas of Porto and Lisbon.
President of Porto Câmara, Rui Rio, reacted immediately to the news saying: “There simply are not the conditions in place to impose traffic congestion charges via toll booths at the entry of main cities in Portugal.
“We can only think about going down such a road when our public transport system is up to scratch.”
Even the non-governmental environment group Quercus said that the introduction of congestion charge tolls “should be used only as a last resort”.
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