Lambeth determined to tackle poor air quality

12 July 2016

Written by: Campaigns team

Council statements and updates - Health and Wellbeing - Transport

We are determined to improve the air quality in Lambeth – and take a lead in making the whole of London a cleaner place to live.

Main post content

Lambeth determined to tackle poor air quality

The council and community group Lambeth for a Cool Planet have launched a petition to the new Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, supporting his proposals to tackle London’s air pollution and outlining the key priorities to improve air quality in the borough.

Please add your name to the Clean Air for Lambeth petition on the Change.org website

Our petition:

London is suffering from a clean air crisis. 10,000 people lose their lives prematurely every year and Lambeth’s inner city location means that we need urgent action to make our borough cleaner and safer.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan is currently consulting on plans to improve London’s air. Lambeth Council, Lambeth for a Cool Planet and the undersigned support the Mayor’s efforts to take strong action to address London’s appalling air quality and support the broad thrust of the proposals contained within it.

We call on the Mayor to:

  • Make the A23 one of the first Clean Bus Corridors. The A23 corridor linking Streatham and Brixton, which has recorded higher levels of air pollution, including NO2, than Oxford Street, should be in the first tranche of Clean Bus Corridors. Clean buses should be introduced to the London bus fleet as a matter or urgency. Buses on London’s roads should use either retrofitted or new, cleaner engines by 2020.
  • Extend the Ultra-Low Emission Zone to reduce the impact of toxic exhaust fumes. Implementation of the ULEZ should be brought forward to September 2019.
  • Invest in green infrastructure. The Mayor should roll out the bike hire scheme to Brixton, Streatham and Norwood, help plant hundreds of new trees and invest in freight consolidation centres to slash the number of journeys made by the most polluting vehicles.
  • Lobby the Government to take clean air seriously. Press the Government to take forward a diesel scrappage scheme at the earliest opportunity, lobby for the devolution of vehicle excise duty to encourage buying of less polluting cars, as well as the reinstatement of the Air Quality Grant.

Please add your name and use the box below to add your own comments and suggestions. Your comments will help inform Lambeth’s response to the Mayor’s consultation “how can we clean up our air?”. If you have time, please also take the Mayor’s air quality survey.


Cllr Jennifer Brathwaite, Lambeth’s Cabinet Member for Environment & Transport, said: “Poor air quality is quite simply killing people – and we will do everything we can to clean up the air in our borough.

“The new Mayor has already shown that he takes this issue seriously and we are now highlighting what we see as the priorities to really make a difference in Lambeth.

“As a council, we are putting in place various schemes to improve air quality – from a commitment to becoming the most cycle friendly borough in London to taking action to tackle building site emissions.

“But this is an area that needs us all to work together – that’s why we want to work with the London Mayor, and national government to make a lasting difference for future generations.”

Share

4 Thoughts on “Lambeth determined to tackle poor air quality

  1. Rachel Bower says:

    I support these plans. Hope other boroughs follow your example.

  2. Nicole Salisbury-Gaumont says:

    Absolutely support the green bus idea on the A23 and the freight centres – we also desperately need to do something about the number of car journeys going through the borough as well. A lot of these journeys could/would be avoided if parking were controlled throughout the borough and not just around tube stations. We desperately need park & ride (and further investment in greener trams/trains) to get people out of their cars. I work on the A23 at Streatham Station and the tailbacks there are atrocious – have you ever counted how many of the cars queueing have only one passenger? I have. You could really help by sending out the message that London is not a car-friendly city – to use public transport instead.

  3. Robin Morris says:

    Why are there no proposals to improve traffic flow? Countless times I’m stuck at traffic lights giving way to an empty junction. No pedestrians or cars. Zebra crossings are efficient and extremely well respected. Miniroundabouts are superior to traffic lights in many scenarios but this isn’t reflecte in Lambeth’s roads; traffics lights prevail even at minor intersections

    • Communications team says:

      Hi Robin

      TfL control all traffic lights in London & monitor/adjust them from their Traffic Control Centre; our Highways team also work with them to improve our roads.

      If you have concerns about a particular junction we would recommend that you contact your local councillors with details (you can find their contact information at http://moderngov.lambeth.gov.uk/mgMemberIndex.aspx?bcr=1).

Comments are closed.