Call for vehicle charge in bid to tackle pollution

A CHARITY is calling on Cardiff council to consider charging vehicles in a bid to try and curb air pollution.

Sustrans Cymru, a walking and cycling charity, is urging the local authority to consider ways of using charges to reduce pollution in the city.

It cited research conducted by the Welsh Government which showed Cardiff has one of the worst air quality levels in the UK, behind cities like Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham.

Steve Brooks, national director of Sustrans Cymru, said: “Cardiff is the UK’s fastest growing city after London but that success has brought more and more traffic. We know transport is the biggest cause of air pollution and it’s the city’s most vulnerable residents who will suffer the most.

“Cardiff is not alone in facing these problems. Other cities around the world are developing plans to reduce traffic in a bid to curb congestion and cut air pollution. We know that schemes like road charging and workplace parking levies can play a role, and it’s time Cardiff council gave such ideas serious thought.

“If we are to help people leave the car at home and take greener, healthier options to get about the city, then we also need to invest more in walking, cycling and public transport.

“If charging is introduced, any money raised should go straight back into the transport budget.”

While the charity has previously praised Cardiff council for its “leadership” in making the city’s transport system greener, it said air quality will disproportionately hit vulnerable people living in poorer parts of the city.

Councillor Caro Wild, cabinet member for strategic planning and transport, said: “Like many other large UK councils we are very aware of the issues all major cities in Britain are facing when it comes to air pollution and congestion.

“We have already announced that we will be bringing a Green Paper on Clean Air forward for public consultation. In the paper we will begin a conversation with the public about the problems the city faces and how they might be addressed.”

The Welsh Government must come up with a plan to meet legal limits of air pollution in Wales as soon as possible. A draft plan on how to tackle air pollution in the country must be produced by April 30 and a final plan must be submitted by July 31 at the latest.

The call comes after a suggestion to introduce London-style Low Emission Zones, where charges are levied for drivers to enter an area which is not “green” enough, was put forward in a review by Cardiff council’s environmental scrutiny committee.

Plans to stop buses from using Westgate Street, the most polluted area in the city, if they fail to meet key emissions standards, are also being considered.

When the city council demolished the bus station, extra bus stops were installed on Westgate Street and buses were re-routed there when St Mary Street and High Street were partpedestrianised. Westgate Street has the highest levels of nitrous dioxide in Cardiff, the scrutiny committee meeting was told last week.

The committee is proposing the council considers gradually restricting the type of buses using the street – so that eventually only those which meet emissions targets can drive in the area.

The draft review is also recommending improving public transport links in Cardiff and surrounding areas to discourage commuters from driving into the city, and increase the number of charging points for electric and hydrogen vehicles in the city.

The committee will discuss the review again on Tuesday, April 17, and hope to put forward more detailed plans to Cardiff council’s cabinet on the Thursday, April 19.