Beijing plans to control the number of vehicles on the road,
suspend some earthwork projects and ask polluting enterprises to
cut back on production to ensure clean air for the 2008 Olympic
Games, environment and transportation officials said yesterday.
They lauded a four-day traffic control trial which concluded on
Monday as a success.
Vehicles with odd and even plate numbers took turns on the road
from Friday to Monday; and people were encouraged not to travel in
private cars to Beijing during the period.
Traffic authorities said that about 1.3 million cars, more than
a third of the city's total, were off the road during the four
days. Millions of car owners took cabs, buses and subways or rode
bikes again.
The Beijing municipal government sent short messages to
residents to thank them for their cooperation.
Du Shaozhong, deputy director of the Beijing municipal
environment bureau, told a press conference yesterday that the city
registered "four blue sky days" with Grade 2 air quality, only a
notch below the best.
He said the air was suitable for outdoor sports like the
marathon.
The air quality improved immediately after the traffic control
exercise began, with emissions of air pollutants like carbon
monoxide dropping 15 to 20 percent, he said.
Air quality relapsed to Grade 3 yesterday after the traffic
controls were lifted.
"The trial proved to be successful as we collected valuable data
to work out a valid plan to rein in pollutant emissions during the
Games," the official said.
Liu Xiaoming, deputy director of the Beijing municipal committee
of communications, said that the trial strengthened their
confidence in improving public transportation to ease traffic
jams.
The data collected will help officials decide on how many
vehicles are to be allowed on the road during the Games, Liu
said.
Du said that the city will also set limits on construction sites
and heavily polluting factories.
A detailed plan to ensure air quality during the Games will be
released by the end of this year, he said.
The Beijing environment protection bureau earlier announced that
the city experienced 133 "blue sky days" - when air quality reaches
Grade 2 - in the first seven months of this year, compared to the
goal of 245 days for the whole year.
The city is home to more than 3 million vehicles, and the number
is still increasing at about 1,000 a day.
(China Daily August 22, 2007)