Time to ban polluting vehicles from the centre of London?
I wanted to introduce this topic again (it was widely discussed here in 2016 and 2018 as a result of the studies that that Putney Society has been leading on locally) as in, some sense, a relief from the endless discussion on Brexit and the EU.It's well known that the air we breathe is heavily polluted, and although there has been an improvement in the last year or so (which Wandsworth blandly claim credit for, even though the improvement almost entirely comes as a result of TfL introducing hybrid buses), it is still very bad. Current figures from the London Air Quality Network show that the level of CO2 in Putney High Street (https://bit.ly/2SnFJE10) is still very high: the average for 2018 to date is 65 micrograms of NO2 per cubic metre; the current EU maximum (Oh dear, I mentioned the EU after all) is 40, so we are breathing air in PHS at over 60% higher than the legal limit.It hardly needs pointing out that this level of pollution is harmful to people right through the age spectrum, from children whose lung development is compromised to older people who are more liable to develop dementia: it's estimated that in the country as a whole, between 28,000 and 36,000 people die prematurely as a result, around 10,000 of them in London.So it's a serious issue that must be tackled: what is actually being done about it? Well, in London we will eventually get the ULEZ extended to the North and South Circulars, but not until October 2021, but that's nowhere near enough: serious action is needed. Other cities in Europe are much more radical in their approach: in Madrid, for example, all petrol vehicles registered before 2000 and diesel ones registered before 2006 will be banned from the area, unless they are used by residents of the area or meet other exemptions. There's a description here in Spanish: https://bit.ly/2vOV9sm and an article in the Guardian (WARNING: Guardianophobes look away now!) here: https://bit.ly/2Q6bPYs.However, I don't want to get bogged down in the detail as this post is long enough already. The real point I wanted to raise is this: that pollution is a very serious problem and that almost two thirds of it copies from vehicular transport. It kills far too many people, but public concern about it is too low. Knife crime is an awful problem and a serious worry, but to put it in perspective, the number of people killed by stabbing ion London so far this year is 127. That is not, of course, in any way to minimise the problem, but the justifiable concern about knife crime does not match the evident lack of real concern about deaths from pollution. (and, before anyone suggests it, I am NOT saying that we should concentrate on one and not the other: both are hugely important).Inevitably, some will say that they have to drive in London. Some who say that genuinely have to, but much larger numbers do not "have" to at all. And unless we start to reduce our reliance on the car in particular, many more people will suffer disabling illnesses and premature deaths. Are we up to the challenge? Are people prepared to accept real limitations on their - our - 'need' to drive, or are they happy to see thousands more dying prematurely?
Richard Carter ● 2903d49 Comments ● 2850d