rebbonk wrote:All of which is missing the most basic point. We are over-populated! But nobody will dare tackle that particular elephant in the room, will they?
I defiently agree with you on that Rebbonk.
rebbonk wrote:All of which is missing the most basic point. We are over-populated! But nobody will dare tackle that particular elephant in the room, will they?
More than 400 sign petition against traffic restrictions on Holyhead Road in Coventry
A PETITION to prevent traffic restrictions on the Holyhead Road in Coventry amid air quality concerns has drawn more than 400 signatures.
It follows another petition to prevent the closure of Coundon Road which now has nearly 3,550 names.
Campaigner Mattie Heaven has questioned the need for the restrictions as part of the city’s pollution-busting Local Air Quality Action Plan.
There will be an introduction of peak-time traffic restrictions between the railway bridge and the ring road junction, with an inbound traffic closure in the morning and outbound in the evening.
Traffic lights would also be removed at the Barras Lane junction, which is a major bottleneck contributing to the poor air quality on Holyhead Road.
Holyhead Road was recently judged to be the most polluting road in the West Midlands by green charity Friends of the Earth.
Ms Heaven says the measure will push traffic onto surrounding roads and do little to minimise emissions in the city.
She says on the petition page: “This petition calls upon Coventry City Council to review their proposal for peak time restriction on the Holyhead Road, which will have an impact on traffic and pollution on the surrounding roads including the Allesley Old Road.
“It is also evident that the council needs to take into account the impact it will have on the local residents and commuters.
“We also request the council looks at other means of reducing air pollution, using accurate and up-to-date data and including additional consultation with local residents in regards to the Coventry Air Quality Action Plan.”
Government orders 'congestion charge' on Coventry roads
The Government has ordered Coventry City Council to start charging motorists to enter the city in a bid to meet clean air targets.
Cars, taxis, buses and lorries could all face a fee to drive into the Clean Air Zone (CAZ), a move previously described by councillors as "economically disastrous."
The demand comes after the city council's £83million plan to cut pollution was rejected by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
Coventry City Council has been under severe pressure to reduce its nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels as the city is forecast to exceed legal limits in 2021.
The authority's Local Air Quality Action Plan was sent to the government in March to avoid controversial clean air zone charging drivers.
Proposals included encouraging the use of electric-powered taxis, retrofitting cleaner engines on 100 buses, introducing new walking and cycling routes, road closures and traffic restrictions.
But the council’s plans have failed to satisfy DEFRA.
Instead, they have directed the council to implement a Class D clean air zone “as soon as possible” – an outcome previously described as “economically disastrous” for Coventry by cabinet member for jobs and regeneration Councillor Jim O’Boyle.
The ‘Class D’ measure, similar Birmingham’s clean air zone, would lead to charges for buses, coaches, taxis, PHVs, HGVs LGVs and cars whose engines are not clean enough.
Coventry City Council will now have just weeks left to revise their plan, having been set a deadline of June 14 to respond.
It is not yet known where the clean air zone would be implemented.
However, at a previous council meeting in April, Cllr O’Boyle said: “Coventry is not very big.
"A congestion charge would have to start at virtually all of the entrance points into the city, so virtually every single area of our city could be affected, and every arterial road into the city could be a road you have to be charged to go down.
“The economic disbenefits of that could be pretty extreme.”
Revealed: Possible prices for Coventry congestion charge
Drivers of the most polluting cars could pay an £8-a-day congestion charge in Coventry if a Government Clean Air Zone is imposed on the city.
In the council’s report, the ‘benchmark’ charges – which have already been implemented in London – range between a daily toll of £12.50 to £100:However, a ‘sensitivity test’ carried out by the council cuts these by between a third and a half, and is more in line with council’s in neighbouring Birmingham and Leeds.
- CAZ category D charge: £12.50 for car, LGV, taxi. £100 for HGV and bus
- Penalty charge if paid within 14 days: £60 for car, LGV and taxi. £120 for HGV and bus
- Penalty charge if paid after 14 days: £120 for car, LGV and taxi. £200 for HGV and bus
It sees possible charges reduced from £12.50 to £8 per day for cars, LGV and taxis, and from £100 to £50 per day for HGVs and buses, while penalty charges also reduce.
Coventry City Council is strongly against the government’s imposition of congestion charging believing its own plan to reduce pollution with cycle lanes, cleaner buses, traffic restrictions and road closures tackles the problem within a similar time frame.
But the modelled charges do give an indication of how the Clean Air Zone could look, should the council’s revised plan to avoid charges fail when it is re-submitted by June 14.
Within the CAZ area there are around 80,000 residents, according to the report, with almost half of those being among the most deprived in the city.
There are also an estimated 52,000 employees who work in the CAZ, along with 3,610 small businesses.
Initial JAQU advice is that 64 per cent of non-compliant cars and LGVs would be upgraded to a compliant vehicle by owners seeking to avoid paying a charge to enter the CAZ D area.
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