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Beijing Takes Final Steps To Ensure Pollution Free Olympics

Posted on: Monday, 21 July 2008, 14:35 CDT

In a last ditch effort to reduce pollution levels in Beijing, officials restricted traffic and closed factories in hopes of transforming the city into a pollution free environment for next month’s Summer Olympic games. 

With more than 1,000 new cars hitting the street each day, Beijing is fast becoming one of the world's most congested areas. The capital city is well known for its pollution, which has earned it the nickname "Grayjing”.

But on Sunday, the flow of traffic was noticeably lighter than usual, as vehicles with odd numbered license plates were prohibited from the city’s streets for the day. On Monday, even-numbered cars will be prohibited.

"Its great -- today there are far fewer cars on the road and the air quality is so nice. This is good for the children," 20-year old Wang Yanna told Reuters, as she strolled along with her toddler nephew near a busy intersection.

Beijing’s chronic pollution has been a significant challenge for Olympic organizers, who are hoping traffic restrictions and industrial reductions will translate into blue skies and easy breathing for athletes during the Games.

Under the new rules, vehicles are banned on alternate days depending on their license plate number.  Most official cars have been impounded, with only taxis and Olympic vehicles now permitted on the streets.

The government intends to remove 60 percent of the city's 3.3 million vehicles from the roads, according to official Xinhua agency reports, and decrease emissions by two-thirds over the two months until the conclusion of the September Paralympic Games.

Most building work has also stopped, and nearly all earth and cement works have been closed, along with many factories, some of which are more than 100 kilometers away. 

In the port city of Tianjin, just east of Beijing and host to Olympic soccer qualifiers, 40 factories were ordered closed.   And in Tangshan, a heavy industrial base northeast of Beijing, nearly 300 factories will shut down this month to improve air quality during the Games.

Taxi drivers, accustomed to losing money as they sit idly in traffic, were overjoyed about the new plan.

"It’s going to be great for business. Look the traffic is already so much better, it’s much easier to drive today," Han Jianguo told Reuters from behind the wheel of his taxi.

However, many of Beijing’s ordinary citizens, though willing to make sacrifices to ensure the Games run smoothly, do not share Jianguo’s enthusiasm.

"The rules will certainly help (with congestion). But it will bring some real difficulties in transportation for ordinary people," driver Liu Shuo told Reuters, before his wife admonished him for criticizing the city’s Olympic preparations.

The city cautioned citizens that anyone violating the new rules will be caught by a high-tech surveillance network of over 10,000 "smart" cameras and scanners.

An additional 4 million people are predicted to crowd the city's busy public transport network, although some relief will be provided via the city’s new airport express and Olympic metro lines.

But despite all the preparations, some athletes remain wary about Beijing’s air quality.  However, the city maintains it is going all out in its efforts, and has spent 120 billion yuan ($17.58 billion) to clean up the environment.  To date, 300,000 high-emission vehicles have been ordered off the streets.

The city hopes to provide a safe, pollution-free Olympic venue, and extra security measures began Saturday as hundreds of Beijing’s “social volunteers” lined the city’s main Chang'an avenue in matching red caps and red-trimmed polo shirts to provide assistance to lost tourists and restrain unruly citizens.  The volunteers will be policing the city’s ban on behavior such as littering and spitting.
   
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On the Net:

• Beijing Olympics

Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports

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