London Mayor Boris Johnson is not doing enough to reduce motor traffic on the capital’s roads, and is playing down the risks of serious long-term health damage to millions of Londoners.
Jenny Jones: accuses Boris Johnson of not doing enough on road traffic
That’s according to Jenny Jones, the Green party London Assembly Member, who has produced an interactive guide to the levels of pollution on the streets of the city.
The guide shows the extent to which the health of Londoners is being endangered by diesel vehicle emissions, which the World Health Organisation states cause cancer.
Croydon’s five most polluted roads, according to official data obtained by Jones and the campaign group Clean Air in London, are:
- Poplar Walk, West Croydon
- Purley Way
- Park Lane
- Wellesley Road
- Foxley Lane, Purley
“Londoners can now see for themselves the extent of air pollution on the busiest roads in their local area,” Jones said. “The Government and the Mayor have tried to play this problem down, but the impacts on human health can be severe.
“The Mayor could and should be doing so much more to tackle this problem but under his watch London failed to meet EU air quality standards in 2011 and is set to continue breaching legal limits until 2025.
“We need more electric vehicles, especially buses and vans, but the simplest solution is to reduce the total amount of traffic on our roads,” Jones said. “The two key steps the Mayor needs to take to make this happen are to lower fares and to create a safe space for people to cycle.”
- Inside Croydon: Croydon’s only independent news source that is actually based in the heart of the borough – averaging 44,000 page views per month, Jan-Jun 2013
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A lot could be done in Croydon for virtually no cost, such as creating areas which are blocks of urban tranquility through which cars cannot rat run; or clearly signing traffic routes so that traffic is lead away from residential areas; or really creating large traffic free zones which are a pleasure to walk through – so that people enjoy walking and are not intimidated by cars and lorries.
Charlotte: Terrific idea; please be more specific.
Name names – or rather roads – where rats could be prevented from running; spell out the boundaries of one of your suggested large traffic free zones.
Maybe we could ask the parties in next year’s election whether they would support your ideas.
PS: I’ve just re-read the original piece. Is comparatively quiet Poplar Walk really more polluted than always congested Purley Way, or Park Lane or Wellesley Road?
Wondered if someone would notice that. But thems what the Mayor’s official figures state.
Think the location relates to where the measurements were made. It is not clear.
You can check the pollution in your immediate area by going to this site and using the appropriate post code: http://www.howpollutedismyroad.org.uk/roads.php