Car-free day a boost for city’s air quality

THERE was a significant improvement in air quality levels on a carfree day in Cardiff – with nitrogen dioxide levels dropping by more than a third.

Over 100,000 people took to the streets of the Welsh capital on Sunday, May 14 for the special day in the city, with many families also taking part in the HSBC UK Let’s Ride cycling event.

Footfall in the city centre was up by 28% compared with the same day the year before, with 125,173 people recorded in the city centre on Sunday compared with 90,005 people on Sunday, May 14, 2017.

Normally busy roads including Castle Street, North Road and Boulevard De Nantes were closed to cars in the early hours and remained shut until the evening, with any residents remarking on how “peaceful” the city centre was without the constant hum of traffic.

But air quality levels also dramatically improved during the day, Cardiff Council have said.

Working with Air Quality UK, air quality monitors were put up around the city to monitor the levels of Nitrogen Dioxide (N02).

Comparing data from Sunday, May 6, there was a significant reduction. Records show that the levels N02 reduced by more than 64% on Westgate Street, 42% on Duke Street and 7% on Stephenson Court, near Newport Road.

On average, that would mean nitrogen dioxide levels dropped by over a third, more than 37%.

But since the event, Air Quality UK have said air quality could have improved much more than first thought.

They said that a monitor on Duke Street showed an 87% reduction in nitrogen dioxide, a monitor in Westgate Street showed an 84% reduction and the third monitor, which was located less centrally from the main road closures, in Stephenson showed a 36% reduction.

That would mean that nitrogen dioxide levels dropped by an average of 69% during the car-free day.

With the increase in footfall in the city centre, the council was also keen to monitor traffic flows on specific roads that were still open on the periphery of the city centre closure.

Results showed a 25% reduction on Newport Road, a 16% reduction on Central Link, a 22% reduction on Cathedral Road, an 11% reduction on Bute Street, an 8% reduction on Clare Road, a 30% reduction on Moira Terrace, an 8% reduction on Fitzalan Place Court, and a 45% reduction on North Road.

Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Transport, Councillor Caro Wild, said: “With the sun shining down on Cardiff, the city was looking its best and the turn out from the public was very encouraging.

“The streets were so peaceful and the amount of positive feedback that I received on the day and through social media shows what the city can do when we work with our partners to deliver an event of this scale. It was great to see so many families enjoying the streets of Cardiff with no traffic on our roads.”