Air pollution poses major health threat

AIR pollution is a killer and politicians are now waking up to the devastation it causes in our communities.

Cardiff is now considering a range of ways to tackle this threat, including bringing in its version of the congestion charge.

A green paper lays bare the extent of concern. Its cites Public Health Wales figures which suggest more than 225 deaths a year in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan can be linked to poor air quality.

It states: “Dirty air is now a greater public health risk than alcohol or obesity. And the people who suffer most from poor air quality are the very young, the very old, and those suffering ill-health.”

The problem is made even more pressing because “air quality is worse in the more deprived southern areas of the city, and is caused primarily by cars from outside of these communities”.

There is the potential for the situation to get worse. The capital already has a population of 360,000 and is expected to grow by 72,000 in the next two decades.

Already, many people may be worried about air pollution – but the city’s residents are also frustrated about the gridlock that brings traffic to a halt.

It is understood that drivers in Cardiff spend an average of four working days a year stuck in peaktime traffic.

The challenge is to find ways of both tackling air pollution and making it easier for people to travel across the city and the region.

Many drivers would happily switch to alternative transport if there were faster and more affordable options. There will be resentment if charges are introduced without a radical improvement in public transport.

Nevertheless, the challenge of bringing down deaths from air pollution must not be ducked. The urgency of this task should clear the way for long-overdue improvements to be introduced.

There is no excuse for the city to lack a fully integrated transport system, especially not when we need to grasp the opportunities that will be created through the South Wales Metro.

We should be optimistic. The switch to electric vehicles has the potential to profoundly reduce pollution; some of the most important changes will not be driven by politicians,but by citizens.

Many will be thrilled if it gets easier to use a bike and proposals for a city-wide 20mph zone will trigger an important debate. This is the time to save lives and make a great city a better place to live. The Western Mail newspaper is published by Media Wales a subsidiary company of Trinity Mirror PLC, which is a member of IPSO, the Independent Press Standards Organisation. The entire contents of The Western Mail are the copyright of Media Wales Ltd. It is an offence to copy any of its contents in any way without the company’s permission. If you require a licence to copy parts of it in any way or form, write to the Head of Finance at Six Park Street. The recycled paper content of UK newspapers in 2016 was 62.8%