The strange city in the heart of Europe without a shadow of a car appeared

Pontevedra was bustling with 14,000 cars every day, but now there's no four-wheeler. "For us, this is paradise," - city people are proud.

Peaceful city like village

In the municipality of Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain now, the permanent sound is just the sound of people roaring and the sound of birds chirping. With no loud noise or honking car horns, the people of the city whispered.

"Before I became mayor of Pontevedra, this place used to have 14,000 cars passing through every day, " - Miguel Anxo Fernández Lores, Mayor Pontevedra said.

Old and present Pontevedra.

But now, thanks to a law banning cars, Pontevedra was so quiet that it was possible to hear the sound of teaspoons and watch the glass of the glass, or the sound of the birds only quietly raising the song.

Benefit from even pre-school teachers. They don't even have to worry about the kids chasing their favorite things when they cross the street for fear of traffic accidents.

Cars in suburban areas must not exceed 30km / h

Since 2009, Pontevedra "banned vehicles". The 300,000 m2 area of ​​the city is covered with granite tiles, planned for exclusive use for pedestrians.

The busiest center of Pontevedra is also very deserted.

In fact, Pontevedra originally intended to reduce traffic volume. But because the city's "health" still doesn't get better, " We decided to remove all motor vehicles from the city," - Lores said.

Today, if you want to enter the city of Pontevedra, people must send their vehicles outside. In return, Pontevedra prepared 1,686 free parking spots around.

Even on the outskirts of Pontevedra, drivers must obey the regulations at a speed not exceeding 30km / h.

More convenient than imagined

Before 2009, Pontevedra was famous for pollution and traffic accidents. Only on the same small street, from 1996-2006, there were 30 accidents.

After 2009, Pontevedra of course no longer had any traffic accidents. CO2 emissions also decreased by 70%.

Do not travel by car or motorbike, residents only buy bicycles is impartial. And even if you have to "walk", it only takes 25 minutes to go through the city.

While the big shopping centers collapsed because of the ban on cars, the small shops were growing up.

In fact, the presence of these "giants" is just the nesting, making small merchants grow. Without them, the Pontevedra people made their living easier.

"For me, this is heaven."

Although Pontevedra still faces conflicting opinions, the majority of people show satisfaction with the current zero-vehicle life. While many other cities are shrinking and losing their population due to pollution, Pontevedra receives another 12,000 people.

"I used to live in Madrid (the capital of Spain) and many other places but, for me, this (ie Pontevedra) is heaven itself," - Raquel García, a new resident praised.

"This town is also a great place to give birth, " - García added.

Ramiro Armesto, another resident agreed."I used to live in both Valencia and Toledo (two Spanish cities), but honestly, there is no place easier to live here."

Therefore, all opposing opinions are quickly extinguished, and heaven has been there ever since.