Kraków unveils anti-smog package

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Mayor Jacek Majchrowski proposed introducing free public transport on days when air pollution exceeds accepted health norms, as part of the programme.

The city would provide daily communiques each morning, and if the particulate matter (PM10) exceeds 150 µg/m3, as registered by the city's three monitoring stations, free transport will be available.

“A draft resolution has aready been prepared on the matter,” Majchrowski said.

“We hope that councillors agree to our proposed solution,” he added.

Meanwhile, another concept is to ban vehicles weighing more than 3.5 tonnes from entering the city centre beyond specific roundabouts, regardless of fluctuations of particulate matter density.

For several years, the city has been funding home-owners to replace coal-burning domestic stoves with eco-friendly forms of heating. This will continue in 2016, with about PLN 100 million set aside for next year. During winter months, domestic stoves create the largest proportion of air pollution in the city.

Last weekend, NGO the Kraków Smog Alarm staged a demonstration on the Market Square, urging the city to push ahead with more measures.

Mayor Majchrowski told journalists that the city accepts the NGO's proposals to hold round table talks on the matter, provided that besides city authorities, social activists and experts, representatives of neighbouring municipalities and regional authorities attend.

A 2013 report by the European Environment Agency found that Kraków had the third most polluted air of 383 cities across Europe. (nh/di)