The Medellín Mayor’s Office released an announcement today saying that this Earth Day (Tuesday, April 24), both cars and motos will be banned throughout the city limits of Medellín. Only taxis and business-based vehicles will be allowed on the roads throughout the day.
The ban will be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Cars with three or more people or motos with two people on board will be able to enter the city limits for those who carpool to work or around town.
The Mayor’s Office communique suggested that people use bikes or roller blades on Tuesday instead of their vehicles. It added that 242 officials from Inder will be in and around the city helping out people who decide to transport through Medellín on bicycle or roller blade.
Environment Secretary of Medellín Sergio Orozco said the ongoing Earth Day celebration is a fitting way to give back to Mother Earth.
“It’s an important theme for air quality,” he said. “It’s been noted in the measuring stations that the air quality gets better because we haven’t lowered our guard and we continue making the proper controls and solutions to be pro-environment.”
Medellín has struggled this year with air pollution and contamination, as the Mayor’s Office had to impose a special Pico y Placa in March to respond to red-alert levels of polluted air.
