I attended Transport 21's meeting at the Calvary Church on Thursday 20th January. The main focus was air quality, and we were given some good information from Council speakers and academics about where the air quality problems in the city are, and the contributory causes.
No surprises to learn that the worst air quality is along the main arterial routes, with the Lewes Road being particularly bad between Elm Grove and the gyratory. It was however surprising to find that a large proportion of the nitrogen oxide pollution comes from HGVs and buses, with a smaller proportion from cars.
It's positive in some ways that buses are high contributors, because solutions are easier, and there was mention (from a representative of Brighton and Hove buses) of trialling hybrid buses in the city soon. But one thing that was perhaps missing from the data was an idea of trends over time, particularly in car usage, which is continually on the increase, making it something that needs to be addressed from a congestion, as well as an air quality, point of view.
The speaker from Living Streets mentioned the recent campaign and Council scrutiny panel report about a 20mph zone across the whole city. The scrutiny panel's conclusions were positive about the benefits of 20mph zones, particularly in residential areas, and recommended moving forward with extending these zones and creating wider areas. However, it stopped short of recommending that the entire city be covered by default by a 20mph zone (with exceptions made for main arterial roads). One of the reasons is that the police have said that it would not be possible to enforce this. Another is the effect on the bus service and other key users of the roads.
The Greens have relaunched a petition to continue to support the "default" 20mph proposal that prompted the scrutiny panel in the first place. But I'm not convinced that they have done enough to explain why they disagree with the panel, and what they propose doing about the various problems that were highlighted. Their time might be better spent identifying specific areas which would be suitable for a 20mph speed limit, finding out what local residents and road users want, and, if there is support, campaigning to set them up.
The scrutiny panel also reported that the impact on air quality and emissions of a 20mph zone was unclear. Since the air quality hotspots are arterial roads, which would be exempt from the zone, I am unsure that the Lewes Road would be helped much by a default 20mph zone across the city. It may even be the case that drivers speed up along the arterial roads to make up for lost time elsewhere! This could actually make things worse along the Lewes Road for residents, cyclists and pedestrians.
Speakers:
1. Stephen Young B&H Living Streets / Senior Lecturer in Economics Brighton University
2. Dr Gary Fuller - Environmental Research Group, Kings College London
3. Mike Best - Operations Manager Brighton & Hove Buses
4. Andy Renaut - Head of Transport Planning & policy, BHCC
5. Tim Nichols / Sam Rouse - Head of Environmental Health / Senior Technical Officer Air Quality, BHCC
We need to get Roger French to replace all of his old polluting buses! And Diesel taxis need to be looked at,too.
ReplyDeleteYes indeed! Brighton and Hove buses replace a fifteenth of their fleet every year, and there were some indications that we might be seeing hybrid buses soon. Good point about taxis.
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