| Topic: | Re:Reply | |
| Posted by: | Jeremy Parkinson | |
| Date/Time: | 03/01/23 09:26:00 |
| Michael, no one is suggesting putting air quality monitors everywhere just on roads where there is clearly an extra risk of exceedance of legal limits such as the top end of Burlington Lane, Sutton Court Road and Acton Lane. Modelling from 2016 data isn't going to give answers because traffic patterns have changed significantly. This may not be necessary if occasional exceedances do not present any extra risk to health. This is a question that hasn't really been answered on this thread but it must be wrong that we are implementing policy without understanding the health impact. If the negative effect on people with respiratory conditions is greatest over certain levels of concentration of pollutants, then the primary aim of policy should be to avoid this happening. Therefore directing traffic to already highly polluted areas isn't sensible. The designation of roads as part of a Principal Road Network is practical but should not override other considerations. It certainly should not negate the right of people living on those roads to good health. I appreciate that some roads aren't equipped to handle a high volume of cars but if a road has reached the limit of the amount of traffic it is carrying, then that traffic does need to be dispersed. How this is done obviously needs careful thought through but the danger with the current system is that we are seeking to banish traffic from 'nice' neighbourhoods and move it to areas where the people behind these policy changes would never consider living. |