11 November 2017
St Albans Greens have brought together ideas from members, residents and experts round the country, to create a 10-point action plan for clean air in the district.
The measures are achievable and practical, and Greens will be pressing St Albans and Hertfordshire Councils to take up the challenge.
Here’s what St Albans District Council and Herts County Council should be doing to clean up our air
1. Create a Clean Air Zone: Create a car-free city centre at set times, and set a congestion charge for the most polluting vehicles.
2. Promote walking and cycling: Improve pavements, crossings, cycle lanes, cycle parking and cycle routes. Make sure new housing developments have cycle parking.
3. Protect with plants: Increase planting and green spaces to absorb and screen pollution, especially where there are children and other vulnerable users.
4. Manage lorries and vans: Work with local businesses to cut deliveries at peak times and stop engine idling.
5. Boost buses: Convert all buses to electric or hybrid as quickly as possible, invest in public transport and end cuts to bus services.
6. Tackle taxis: Work with taxi companies to stop idling. Set timetable for all taxis to be electric or hybrid, with help for drivers to make the switch.
7. Clean up Council vehicles: End diesel vehicles in local council fleets and clean up vehicles used by Council contractors.
8. Go for 20mph: Stop street-by-street approach to introducing 20mph zones, and take cheaper, more effective option of default 20mph in built up areas.
9. Set up Park & Ride and Car Clubs: Push for schemes that reduce the need for cars, like linking car clubs with new housing development.
10. Improve monitoring and publicity: Invest in better air quality monitoring and regularly publish easy-to-understand results. Publicise the dangers of poor air quality.
Privacy: The local party and Cllr Simon Grover are both registered with the Information Commissioner's Office
