You often hear people in Liverpool, from Mayor Anderson down, saying that we are a world class city. Well in many ways of course we are. But occasionally we come across another city doing something that we haven’t even considered and proving just how much it works. Like Copenhagen with cycling and now Pontevedra, in Galicia Spain, with a car-free city centre.
Engage ran a seminar in 2014 Liverpool On the Move and when it was suggested by residents that we ought to consider having less cars in the city centre there were strong political voices raised against it. Please take a moment to find out more about the Mayor of Pontevedra and what is being done in that city and the amazing difference it is making to everyone’s life.
One fascinating fact is that there are now 12,000 more people living in the city centre than there was before it became traffic-free! Also the shops report greater sales – not less, as we heard from the traders on Bold Street afraid of what would happen to their businesses if it became pedestrianised. Read more about this below: