Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Mayor of London announces plans to clean up London’s toxic air
The new Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced today that he will launch a formal policy consultation in a matter of weeks on a major package of measures to tackle air pollution in London.
Announcing the consultation, the Mayor said: "I want to act before an emergency, which is why we need big, bold and sometimes difficult policies if London is to meet the scale of the challenge.”
Almost 10,000 Londoners die every year because of polluted air according to the latest medical research. London does not currently meet the legal requirements for pollutants such as Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) and new research published by the World Health Organisation just yesterday (12 May 2016) showed that London has breached safe levels of pollutant particles known as PM10.
The proposals in the consultation will include:
- Extending the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to the North Circular Road and the South Circular Road and the possibility of bringing forward the introduction earlier than 2020. Under current plans the ULEZ will only operate within the Congestion Charging Zone and it is due to come in from 2020.
- Implementing an extra charge on the most polluting vehicles entering central London using the Congestion Charge payment and enforcement system from 2017 (this would not mean an increase in the Congestion Charge but just the method for collecting the extra charge from people driving the most polluting vehicles)
- Introducing ULEZ standards for heavy vehicles London-wide from 2020
- Giving the go-ahead for Transport for London (TfL) to start work on the costs and challenges of implementing a diesel scrappage scheme as part of a wider national scheme delivered by the Government
- Proposals to work with the Government to tackle air pollution on a national and international level.
- Proposals for TfL to lead by example:
- Introducing self-imposed ULEZ standards a year earlier for TfL double decker buses
- Implementing clean bus corridors – tackling the worst pollution hotspots by concentrating cleaner buses on the dirtiest routes
- Expanding the ULEZ retrofit programme to 3,000 buses outside the central zone (up from 2,000)
- Purchasing only hybrid or zero-emission double-decker buses from 2018.
Tags for Forum Posts: air quality, pollution
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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Very grave "externalities", Dan. Well, let's use blunter terms: avoidable deaths, and long term illnesses, including respiratory diseases. With children at high risk.
Maybe a while ago we the general public - and even politicians with their ridiculously egotistic PR nonsense of Green hotels and chicken restaurants - didn't know enough. But now we know a bit more.When the Volkswagen scandal -the "Diesel Dupe" - came to light last year I hoped it would signal a change in attitudes. Rather like the significant change in public and political views about adding lead in fuel. But somehow it doesn't seem to have happened in the same way.
Many years ago a work colleague of mine was very involved with CLEAR (the Campaign for Lead Free Air). She explained to me that when she was pushing her toddler son in his buggie along the pavement, she could see stuff coming from vehicle exhaust pipes. Which were at the exact height to maximise how much he breathed in.
So maybe one factor is that the killer is now invisible?
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P.S. Evidence base? We're talking about Haringey Council!
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Permalink Reply by Penny A on
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Perhaps the Mayor of London (esp given Joanna McCartney's recent appointment) would be brave enough to use Harringay as a pilot for improving urban living and air quality. To recognise that health and wellbeing depend on loved and cared for communities, that children are at risk, that road design, the built enviroment and reduction of traffic are key to change. Everything points towards the need for a very brave decision by Haringey Council before Harringay collapses into a constant swamp of pollution and traffic. Yes, we are worth it!!
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