City’s most polluted street
A TUNNEL next to Central Station is now the most polluted street in Newcastle.
Orchard Street, where the station’s taxi rank is located, has average emissions levels of more than twice the legal limit, according to newly-released council figures.
Two new pollution sensors placed on the street recorded the highest and third highest average levels of nitrogen dioxide levels in the city in 2018.
Under plans for a £5m revamp of the railway station, the tunnel is due to be pedestrianised and the taxi rank moved to Bewick Street.
The second worst air pollution hotspot in the city is now at the junction of Stephenson Road and Jesmond Park West, just before the Corner House junction on the Coast Road, where nitrogen dioxide levels are also double the limit of 40 micrograms per cubic meter of air (g/m3 ).
Busy city centre bus route Blackett Street, another road which council bosses are keen to pedestrianise permanently, saw a dramatic increase in its pollution levels from 2017 to 2018.
The Tyne Bridge and Strawberry Place also feature among the 10 most polluted roads in the city.
However, the pollution crisis on Gosforth High Street has improved significantly.
After being named as the city’s worst area for pollution in the council’s last annual review, emissions levels dropped from 59.3 to 44ug/m3 and the route is not even in the top 10 this time.
In total, the legal limit was exceeded in 38 locations that are monitored by the council and seven sensors reported higher levels than 2017’s worst hotspot. Campaign group SPACE for Gosforth said that the Orchard Street figure was the worst NO2 ever recorded in Newcastle and that, while Gosforth High Street was now much cleaner, it was still above legal levels.
The group said that the only change that they believe contributed to the improved high street readings is the introduction of new buses in late 2017.
Concerns have also been raised about Strawberry Place’s appearance in the city’s most polluted locations list.
SPACE for Gosforth said that plans for a £120m apartment, office and hotel development next to St James’ Park could “create a ‘street canyon’ potentially making air pollution levels even worse in future”.
Council bosses in Newcastle are planning to impose a ‘Clean Air Zone’ from 2021 to charge some high-polluting vehicles up to £50 per day to drive into the city centre.
A spokesperson for Newcastle City Council said: “We are determined to tackle poor air quality in order to improve the health of our city and we are currently consulting on final plans for clean air measures that will be introduced from 2021.
“These measures are aimed at reducing the number of high polluting vehicles on our roads and enabling more people to switch to public transport, walking or cycling when possible.
“We have already invested in new cycle routes across the city as well as creating bus lanes on key routes to help ensure public transport can run smoothly and reliably.
“In addition, we are continuing to look at plans to restrict access to vehicles on Blackett Street, which this report shows has some of the highest levels of pollution in the city centre.”