Warsaw cutting back on car access, coal heating to fight smog

Warsaw, Poland, will restrict car traffic and coal heating in private residences to address intense smog in the city, according to The Associated Press.

Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski said the city will hike fees and fines for downtown parking and build more Park and Ride lots to incentivize the use of public transportation. Damp air and increased use of coal heaters often combine to create dense fog in the city as well as industrial regions in the southern part of the country during the winter and fall.

{mosads}In the long term, the city plans to ban cars altogether from the Old Town neighborhood, a popular tourist destination, and restrict transportation to nonemission buses. Warsaw will also offer subsidies of up to 200,000 zlotys, or about $52,000, to transition from coal heaters to non-coal heaters.

Trzaskowski said the city also plans to create more green zones and stations to survey air quality in the near future, according to the AP.