Beijing hopes restrictions on cars bring bluer skies

BEIJING — With 49 days remaining before the Olympics, and the air soupy with smog, Beijing officials announced a temporary measure on Friday to unsnarl the city's traffic and reduce its chronic and sometimes choking air pollution.

The policy, which Chinese media outlined months ago but the government waited to announce until Friday, will be enforced from July 20 through Sept. 20, a period that includes the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

It will restrict owners of private cars to driving on alternate days, depending on whether the last number of their license plate is even or odd, officials said at a news conference on Friday. Operating hours for public transportation will be extended during the two-month period, the officials said.

"We hope to see a bluer sky," said Zhou Zhengyu, a spokesman for the city's traffic committee.

Five days after the July 20 ban goes into effect, special Olympic traffic lanes will begin operating and will stay in place until Sept. 25. The city will set aside 165 miles of roadway, where certified Olympic vehicles will be allowed to move from hotels, Olympic venues and the Athletes Village. The average speed is expected to be 35 mph.

Setting aside special lanes is the only way to move traffic along Beijing's crowded roads.

In addition, 300,000 heavy-polluting vehicles — aging industrial trucks, many of which operate only at night — will be banned starting July 1. Officials said that 95 percent of the city's 66,000 taxis and 21,000 buses would be operating during the game.

Officials have said that during the same two-month period, most construction in the city will halt, heavy industries will close, and even spray painting will stop.

New sports venues and $40 billion spent to improve China's infrastructure have not disguised the fact that Beijing's air quality remains a contentious issue. International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge had said outdoor endurance events lasting more than an hour will be postponed if air quality is poor.

About 500,000 foreigners are expected for the games, with 10,000 athletes and about 30,000 journalists.

The traffic plan was announced on a day when Beijing sweltered under a thick haze of pollution, limiting visibility to a half-mile. Conditions were even worse Thursday, although the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau's Web site described conditions for both days as only "slightly polluted."

"Perception is often different from the scientific monitoring statistics," said Du Shaozhong, deputy chief of Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau. "We base our findings on data."

Du had repeatedly denied charges that officials moved monitoring stations away from polluted areas to get better readings.

Also

The Olympic torch relay began amid tight security today in Tibet's capital Lhasa, site of a March crackdown on rioting that helped fuel demonstrations at some of the flame's international stops. The 6.8-mile run began at Norbulingka, the Dalai Lama's former summer palace from where Tibet's traditional Buddhist leader fled into exile in 1959.