We often see that XYZ Council want to introduce ‘radical’ plans to shake up some process or other, usually some form of taxation, but when does ‘radical’ become ‘desperate’?
Bristol City Council is in “desperate need of a strategy to improve its air pollution” after already missing two government set deadlines regarding cleaning up the air pollution in the city and spending almost £1million of government funding on proposals.
And if the idiom of ‘Desperate times call for desperate measures’ is correct, it could be that Bristol City Council is on the verge of introducing some very desperate measures.
£1.65million
It’s thought that Bristol City Council have received in the region of £1.65million of government money to tackle air pollution within the city, and aside from missing two deadlines to finalise measures, it would seem that the city council have done very little, although at the estimated cost of £1million, it’s an expensive very little.
The problem with this, is that they’re now forced to take a ‘radical’ approach without too much thought or consultation as to the bigger picture, and one of the radical plans being considered is to ban all diesel vehicles entering the city between the hours 7AM to 3PM; buses, taxis, privately owned cars and of course HGVs would all come under the ban.
We already know that high parking charges have had a direct impact on city centres, with out of town shopping centres mopping up the customers that refuse to pay extortionate parking charges, but with an actual ban in place, just how much of an impact would that have on the businesses already established within the city centre?
And of course, a blanket ban on diesel would mean that all transport links (buses, taxis etc) would either have to be electric or unleaded, and that brings further costs. Bristol City Council have suggested that there may be a scrappage scheme introduced to help motorists, but again, will a scrappage scheme solve the problem, or just create further issues?
Two options
The second option being considered is for something like a ULEZ charge, but aimed purely at the commercial traffic – HGVs, taxis, delivery vans, transportation … all vehicles aside from privately owned, domestic transport. Finally, a local authority that doesn’t want the private motorist to make up the shortfall of any budget.
And yet, the question has to be asked – what would this mean for the local economy? Who would pay these extra charges in the long run? With figures of ‘up to £100’ being mentioned, where would that money come from? A shop having daily deliveries, for instance, could find themselves looking down the barrel at an extra £500 per week in charges (assuming a 5-day working week), or £26,000 a year.
Prices of goods would inevitably rise, which would mean that whether you’re catching the bus into town (which of course would also have to charge more) or driving your ULEZ charge-free car, you’d ultimately be paying for the clean air.
Targeted bans
The proposals will also include specific ‘at risk’ areas such as the Bristol Royal Infirmary and the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, which could mean that anyone using the A&E department could be hit with a bill just for the privilege, and of course, visitors, outpatients and workers would all be equally affected.
Having already spent £1million on proposals, with no results, the council have picked two plans, both seriously flawed and are opening them up to a six week public consultation, which seems like a panicked reaction rather than well-thought out plan, and that’s exactly what it is.
Surely, there should be governance in place to stop this sort of thing happening? The council will go ahead and push through a plan, any plan, in record time just to meet with a third deadline, so as they don’t need to pay back a significant amount of money, of which it seems that they’ve already spent the majority of.
Labelling the proposal as ‘radical’ is too easy; plans that hit everyone, be they motorists or not, that will see an increase in prices of basic necessities, that affect established businesses with the loss of customers, or that helps to drive consumers to out of town retail parks aren’t radical, they’re ill thought out and desperate.
The six week consultation starts on July 1st, after which, the favoured plan will be submitted to the Cabinet in September, presumably for rubber stamping, and you can be sure that regardless of how ‘radical’ they are, they’ll get the green light.
What do you think to the plans? Are BCC doing the right thing? Should a local authority be regulated so that they can’t just rush through the process in desperation? Let us know in the comments.
It seems that only thick idiots run Councils these days! Don’t they understand the devastating effects this stupidity will cause to businesses and workers?
I suggest you join the Council at the earliest opportunity. No need for your description. There are many excellent Councillors who work very hard for the electorate. My experience has been that there are many Councillors who do not want to hurt businesses or drivers, but are usually in the minority on the Council.
The latest brainless idea to penalise drivers in my home area of Norwich is to fine drivers who let their car engines tick over for more than one minute at traffic lights and junctions.
Answers on a postcard as to how much it would cost to have people with stopwatches at every traffic light or T junction please. At the lights by Norwich train station the delay is often more than two minutes waiting for a green light, so that is one money point.
However I have timed diesel buses ticking over at City centre stops for up to 10 minutes at a time. Good revenue stream there then.
100% agree Stan, most councils live in a dream world and John sound s just like a classic council twit. Councils have been on about banning Diesel cars. Reality is most normal people buy a 2nd hand car and if you are looking at a family sized car, the vast majority are diesel, why because for years civil servants and politician have been telling us diesel is great. I bought a second hand Renault a couple of years ago, at the time 17 out of 17 on the used car site were DIESEL.
It these people were to buy new, they would probably over stretch there credit facilities a bit to far putting them at increased risk of defaulting on debt, car companies would not even be able to make the number a cars required while increasing the number of cars going to scrap heap, which even with recycling still results some environmental damage.
Just like Donald Trump- insult people with a different opinion.
Of course air quality targets are like all targets somwhat arbitrary & air quality has improved from what it was 40 years ago. I can remember working in the centre of London in the 70’s [near Oxford Street] being aware with each breath of pollution that I couldn’t escape from because I worked there BUT it has improved significantly since then & to the point I am no longer able to detect pllution as I once could. Improvement however is rarely acknowledged as the goal posts are constantly being moved by environmental campaigners. Given the degree of improvement has already been achieved, I do not believe the urgency with which new targets are now being pursued is justified.
Time is needed to make any further adjustments or risk wrecking the ecomomy of a city. Of course wrecking the economy would have the effect of meeting pollution targets but isn’t that throwing the baby out with the bath water?
Democracy heh. Its the councils that cause pollution with traffic lights in inappropriate places, why dont they consider a one way circuit as vehicles dont pollute as much when moving but that means they would have to engage their brains.
A one way system may seem like a good solution as it might reduce the number of stops and starts at junctions but the Labour council in Reading proposed such a scheme where they wanted to construct a 7 mile one way road to circle the centre of the town. So while there may be fewer stops and starts the distance travelled by vehicles was going to be much further. One estimate was that the extra journey time was about 1/3 more miles driven. This would have offset the gains. In the end the council lost 7 seats at the next local election and the council decided to let the scheme fade away because they did not want to risk losing control of the council and the actual cost of the scheme was so high that they found difficulty in funding it.
Usual council muppets in charge, what have they spent £1 million of Taxpayers money on so far? ‘Green’ Consultants I expect, who have achieved…. nothing.
Lucky you, Manchester has “employed” Chris Boardman as our cycling Tzar… thats the one with no no traffic management skills, no civil development / engineering skills… but, and hers the kicker, whilst he has no skills to offer, he does still own Boardman cycles which of course WILL benefit from any increase in cycle sales.
Two face? conflict of interest? jobs for the boys? take your choice… your lucky we are stuck with the useless sod.
Boardman cycles was bought by Halfords a couple of years ago. Would be useful if you could get your facts straight!
Sounds like a business opportunity screaming out for an entrepreneur who can deliver using electric or pedal powered vehicles. Wonder why no body has thought of that?
The astronomical coats to implement such a thing. Energy costs that are too high, taxes on just running a Bristol. Let alone having a depot with enough yard and or warehouse space.
It’s unfortunately a race to the bottom for road haulage and we’ve been scraping the bottom on prices for a while.
We have no more room to give to absorb any more costs.
Bob has a valid point. Why does everyone have use cars. In the 1950’s almost everyone cycled and owning cars was a luxury rather than a necessity. I live in Bristol and by choice cycle almost everywhere. Not only is it generally quicker, doesn’t create pollution and keeps me fit Many people will not cycle because it feels unsafe. Taking vehicles off the road creates a safer environment for all. .Parents would be more comfortable allowing their children to cycle or walk to school. Traffic would flow much better, meaning public transport would be more reliable, delivery vehicles could be in and out of centre in much less time. Lowered congestion means less pollution. Create an incentive for people to purchase and use bicycles and you would be halfway to solving the existing problems. The Netherlands manage it. Admittedly most areas are much flatter than Bristol. I’m over 70 yet I can get anywhere in Bristol by cycling. When I can’t manage the hills easily I will just have to invest in an electric bike.
And what happens if you are disabled and can only get around by using a car? I can’t use a bike as much as I would love to be physically able to. Please don’t discriminate against those of us who need our cars.
Except you’re breathing in the pollution that’s probably carcinogenic while cycling, walking, running and driving
Hope it will be able to pull a caravan as many tourist I being one will avoid Bristol as there are many of better places to go without being robbed by idiots god help your local traders
Thatcher got ride of good public transport and we are still paying for it.
I suffer from Asbestos related lung disease and could not even contemplate cycling, even on the flat! Sheffield is built on 7 hills most of which are steep yet the local authority still create problems for motorists by reducing the parking areas and increasing the time (we have to pay to park up until 20.30 hours)
and they insist on double yellows everywhere to give cyclists an easier route with no thought for people who can’t cycle and who need to get around. However I am considering moving my business to a more car friendly location.
Er, I don’t want to ride around on a razor blade ending up like a sweaty rhino before work. I also cannot abode the two wheel eco brigade, who hog the road, create havoc, are a general nuisance, and for god knows why, often are Lycra clad, mid fifties, with a sweaty a**e crack visible to all. Give me a nice comfy vehicle anyway.
All deliveries should be restricted to evening and nights, I can remember town centres being closed for deliveries during the day, but then that was before the lobbying of JIT opened the floodgates to all hours deliveries. Want clean air during the day then go back to sensible non greed times.
I agree David, except that the thing about the Netherlands (and other Low countries / Scandewegia) is that they kept their trams and their cities grew alongside and made allowances for the bicycle. So there are plenty of safe cycle lanes, many of them completely separate from “normal” roads. Here in the UK, governments (I don’t know which) have eliminated trams and actively discouraged cycling until recent years. The roads have never been designed for cyclists and (in my view) there are few cycling lanes that are actually safe.
So cars and cycles are compteing for the same road space, which is rarely going to get bigger. Logically reducing the number of cars increases the amount of road space for cycling. But if you consider any Dutch or Danish town / city, they are flat (mostly). The majority of Bristol is not flat and its going to be a very hard job persuading people who live there to cycle, never mind the significant numbers of commuters from the surrounding towns where the road space is often just fairly narrow country roads.
Personally, I favour light rail / tram systems as they can transport significant numbers of people quickly and – given our weather – comfortably. But they are damned expensive and we’re paying for the past mistakes of opur politicians.
Electric vehicles are NOT the dream solution that so many people believe. They have their own environmental impact with the pollution caused when batteries have to be disposed of. They use uncommon and precious metals to make the batteries. Also where are the charging points. Fire officers have already raised the point that the risk to safety with cables crossing public paths and the increased number of fires by people using their standard mains electric to charge their vehicles will become a major problem. Many people live in flats and there is nowhere to build the charging points. Also electric is not the solution because solar cannot provide enough power for all the vehicles in Britain to become electric.
Furthermore electric vans are too underpowered to be used to solve the commercial problem. They carry less and have to be recharged before a normal workday is completed.
P.Purvis, I disagree with your comments when comparing EVs to conventional cars.
Although EVs currently have their issues of limited range the environmental impact you mention is much less than a conventional petrol or diesel vehicle over their lifetime and when comparing two vehicles like for like there is little difference in the carbon footprint to manufacture either.
The batteries are recyclable to a high degree at their end of life (an internet search will confirm this). Yes, they use rarer metals in the batteries such as Lithium, but the same as used in most modern mobile devices.
The charging infrastructure is still being developed but there are many charge points now in operation all over the country and more are being added so this will only improve as time goes on. As for people running charge cables over paths, I have only seen this once at a holiday park and unfortunately people will do silly things. Those that can charge at home safely can do so, but public charge points are available.
Your comment about Electric vans being under powered is not accurate, limited range yes, under powered no. Have a look at the Tesla trucks and lorries that are nearing production if you have doubts about their power.
As they are today EVs don’t suit everyone but they are improving rapidly.
The internal combustion engine has been in development and use for over 100 years, EVs have only seriously been in development for a short time.
As for environmental impact I suggest you look into how petroleum products are produced and the damage caused to extract, the cost to processes and refine and then there is the transport of the fuel.
Electricity is the only current fuel that gets cleaner as time goes on and we move to renewable sources of generation.
So do we do nothing and continue to drive polluting vehicles that need fuel that damages our planet to obtain and our children’s health?
This is one of those things where, change a few junctions and it has a knock on affect on the next set, and Im guessing, they run out of money before they could get someone to complete the puzzle. Pretty ridiculous.
I agree there is an issue with number of cars on the road. but equally, after the country recommended diesels then banning them really goes against the grain.
Whatever they do, they need to provide an alternative that is going to work for everyone that they are planning to ban. Have they actually counted how many cars, buses, lorries, trucks, taxi’s are going through these points each day? If they havent they will create hell and chaos if the ban suddenly takes effect.
Decent park and ride systems can help to provide relief, but quite often these are poorly located – they need to be at a location that doesn’t require queuing, to minimise fumes. Equally, bus regularity needs to be suitable. every 10-15 minutes during rush hours and every 20 minutes otherwise. There should also be multiple car parks to cater for traffic in points to the city to save bottle necks.
introducing electric scooters and bikes in town centre can help encourage occupants in the area from considering driving in town.
So much can be done…
how many shopping bag can you manage to Carrey on your bike don’t people ever ask these kind of questions before they open their mouths and let a load of rubbish pour out ?
A plan to ban everyone, well, except council employees and politicians on ‘official business’! And with no real viable alternative in place that’s affordable. Absolute class, and affecting the poorest more than the rich who can afford to make other plans, including moving elsewhere (including their businesses). Newcastle are also looking at similar things, apparently, like a ULEZ, which will have similar consequences. Obviously the local politicians want to lose their seats.
Well put Andrew. We have had Diesel Gate, just wondering when Electric/Battery Gate will come.
Its already well known that the magnets used in wind turbines results in toxic/radioactive waste as part of the manufacturing process. The production process of batteries is not any better.
Paul, Look up the child cobalt miners of the Central African Republic.. mere children having to mine the cobalt that goes into these batteries…. The downsides dont stop at country boundaries….
VW group of Dieselgate fame is allocating billions of Euros to secure battery supplies irrespective of DRC child labour concerns. Trying to buy their way to respectability on the back of this and other mining / environmental issues. That company’s past history is terrible, but makes for entertaining reading – Prague sex jaunts for key personnel is just one! Anyway is electric the sole option or should we be looking at Fuel cells especially now the US Army has stumbled on a way to produce hydrogen in much greater quantity and does not involve the 2 electric terminals in a container of water method that I remember from school physics lessons.
It’s not just the production of these batteries. What happens when they reach their limit and have to be replaced? In a landfill?
Erm Neodymium Iron Boron magnet production, which are predominantly used in wind turbines, do not produce any “toxic” waste and as producing radioactive waste, I think you’ve been reading some very fake news my friend. True Neodyium is a rare earth mineral but the industry is moving away from this type of magnet due to the cost.
Lithium iron phosphate batteries which are currently being used a lot in EV (electric vehicles) again do not produce any tangable toxic waste, it could be argued that mining of this mineral causes pollution but I don’t think that’s what you’re trying to convey here…
Can’t wait to see what happens to the n/grid in 10 years time when everything is electric it will cost that much to charge these recommended electric vehicles up they will be saying you will have to get a horse and cart the grid can’t take any more but the rest of the world will carry on as normal and once more laugh at the idiots that run our country
It’s the politics of what they used to call the Communist Party with full control over comrades and when and where they can travel.
The Communist Party more or less died in the 70’s but there more commonly know as the Green Party today.
Met self. You are sooo right. Red has moved to Green…,
There’s the idea of community as well, looking out for each other’s welfare. When did that become a dirty word?
Have you ever been to or lived in a communist country if you had then you would know it is not as you think it is,the party members that get the cream & the rest get the s**t.
Don’t forget Corbyn used to be a communist party member!! Green and Red
Or Labour Party
‘north korean’ level of intelligence.
Bristol, like many cities, is run and advised by people who lack any vision or even common sense.
The Metro Bus stops which were years late and cost millions actually cause congestion by causing all the traffic to stop when the bus stops because they built them flush with the kerb.
The council spent millions on bus lanes which the buses choose not to use for whatever reason.
They come up with “options” which are as palatable as choosing to be either punched in the face or kicked in the b@lls and the public has to take it.
Their latest idea is charging drivers whose employers provide parking spaces.
Radical is just a word used to cover badly thought out and unpopular ideas
Simon, Nottingham has the same parking space policy…. here in Manchester at my old business when you got a job with the company as an employee you buy a small plot of land from the company from the land around the premises… commonly known as the car park. You can then park you car on your own property.
No doubt someone in the council is trying to get around this tweak as we speak… but the staff are happy!.. and as yet Manchester have not tried to bring this car park tax in.
Council tax on the parking space?
I do mot Agee with the proposal of banning cars , there are concecqenses of taking children to school all over the city , maybe school buses should take the children to school , oh no
Buses are Baned , nobody will be able to go shopping , BRISTOL will br a ghost town . But maybe that’s what the council want , the suspension bridge won’t take any money also , [email protected]
There are no easy answers to this. The council are being sensible by having a 6 week consultation though.
Unfortunately there have been no councils who have been effective and in any case, giving councils the difficult job of implementing changes borne from government decisions will only create problems. Most towns and cities have insurmountable issues with regard to transport emissions due to inefficient transport infrastructure and having everything going in a poorly considered direction for decades. Recently realising the problems this has caused with regard to the environment means that the type of short term fixes which are coming through such as ULEZ are only going cause devastating long term effects such as economic ruination. Interestingly, the most vociferous age group about environmental issues is the young who have no idea of the long-term ruinous effects. In time, they will regret their poverty inflicting demands though.
Decades ago, the government should have taxed people on distance of commute and introduced massive taxes on 2nd homes to keep people living within their employment catchment area. Unfortunately this common sense did not suit the wealthy (loads in government who are wealthy or have such dubious links). At the other end of the spectrum, far too much housing is too low cost, has no provision for parking (cars) or points for charging EVs.
Until the government has the epiphany that they have been catastrophically wrong all along and have only been working towards an unsustainable end and have a radical reappraisal of their incorrect money based policies, we are all going to suffer.
New towns were a decent idea of the way things needed to be 50 years ago and it shows how unsuitable large cities with disparate areas such as Chelsea, Kensington, Brixton and Mosside are and how the uneven distribution of wealth is a fundamental part of the problem.
Expecting a council such as Bristol to solve this is simply ridiculous and will avoid the real issues being addressed. Little wonder there are people in disruptive groups such as Extinction Rebellion (not that I support that either but they have a point). However, short term knee jerk strategies are known not to work yet are the very things being demanded and implemented. The time has come that we cannot afford to get it so wrong anymore.
You nearly had me until you agreed with the excretion rebellion nutcases….
I don’t agree with them. Their position is just another reaction to the position we have all been put it though. It is expected that the deepening problems will produce ever more extreme reactions which will ironically create yet more problems.
The only people happy with those nutcases will be Achmed and his donkeys, back to the stone ages with these useless layabouts.
the major problem in the uk is the population were ‘conned’ into buying a diesel engine car by GOVERNMENT, and manufactures reacted by tooling up to manufacture them.
What about the elderly and disabled who cannot walk how are they supposed to get to hospital, doctors, shops, etc?
If they are that disabled they will have a blue badge and be exempt.
Have you ever tried to get a Blue badge.my wife is disabled and I cannot get one for her so your comment sound easy cop out but in fact is is not true .
Plenty of disabled people can’t afford to run a car, or may not be mobile enough to use a taxi either.
you have to pay for the blue badge now £25
Do you think everybody in the country can drive someone else who can’t think before the rubbish come out of their mouth
Plant more greenery to absorb pollution as shown in a programme recently on TV. But to stop cars etc coming into Bristol centre?????
BCC do not like cars, everyone knows that, they do everything to make it difficult for cars; widen pavements which narrows roads when if they left them would have made two lanes so cars could go left or right instead they have to queue causing more pollution, 20 mph zones causing more pollution, if we didn’t have bus lanes we could get into town quicker using 2 lanes instead of queuing etc etc etc
The same in my London borough. They are still putting down road humps in streets that are no longer than 100 yards. Traffic lights at every junction. Traffic lights instead of crossings. Building on green belt land, and a blanket 20mph zones. A comment earlier said councils are mad. How right that is.
.
Scrap all targets , sack all council employees, let people drive what and when they want/Need
PROBLEM SOLVED
Bristol will become a Ghost town if any changes are made, I for one will not go into Bristol as i prefer to go elsewhere so Bristol will become a no go area
Try looking at the 10 reasons NOT to get an electric car for instance
Come on everyone- YOU need to wake up to reality. It’s not Councils that are run by idiots it seems as though just about every household in the uk is occupied by them. For decades air pollution has been getting worse – especially from diesels with major impacts on human health. We expect the price of food to stay low or go down when all costs are rising. All that has simply deferred paying the real cost of our environmental damage . It’s like an interest only mortgage – the final bill comes in eventually and for motoring it is in now. Man up – you signed up for this with your decades of selfish motoring – so get your hand in your wallet.
Now look here Ewen – I drive an old Ford Escort with a filthy polluting diesel engine and will continue to do so!
The old Escort will produce higher levels of emissions but soot particles are large enough to be filtered by mammals respiratory systems.
Also, a car that age normally has 2 or 3 other cars produced to replace it- had it not lasted so long. Unfortunately there are no accurate figures for depletion of resources and manufacturing, nevermind the very environmentally damaging Chelsea tractor types.
Ewen
Another one falls into the ever increasing pool of lie believers. if you actually look at the pollution in decades past I think you will find that we are in a cleaner environment than we have been for decades, its just the targets that have been moved. you may not be old enough to remember to pea soup smog of the past where the air was so thick you literally couldn’t see 10 yards. this used to be plague in cities all over the UK. in the major cities people literally died in the streets because of it and buildings turned black. jut look how few days UK cites are brought to a halt by poor visibility these days, it used to happen regularly. I am fed up with the demonising of diesel with no mention of the carcinogenic effects of the benzenes produced by petrol vehicles (never mind their much greater c02 output). you burn oil in any form you produce pollutants. you either live with that and move to ever more efficient/cleaner engines or move to electric with the huge environmental destruction that battery production and disposal will wreak its all a balancing act. I am not convinced electric battery power is the long term answer due to these impacts. the country is also a million miles away from having the infrastructure to support everyone using electric vehicles.
The pollution you can’t see is more dangerous. Don’t you know that? No wonder you’re all confused. The lead in petrol rotted your brains. The damage to kids is irreversible. Educate yourselves.
Glad your not breathing this s**t your talking about I could be wrong you might have had more than the rest of us and are totally confusef
Ewan sounds like a 30 something petulant child, we paid taxes in the 60’s 70’s and continue to do so, one of the key taxes we paid and yes continue to pay (albeit now referred to as car tax) was road fund license which was implemented to fund infrastructure for traffic, my hand has been in my wallet for decades so take your supercilious attitude and put it where the sun don’t shine!!!!
Bet you or your family have cars and contribute to all this pollution you talk about but then again it will be everybody’s fault but your I suppose you never been involved 😫
I just want to say good luck to the Bristol economy don’t moan the shops and services go in decline because no one wants to go there any more.
Encourage the use of two wheels (bicycles and motorcycles) with more cycle / motorcycle lanes and more free parking facilities for two wheels.
I haven’t driven into Bristol for many years. The roads are gridlocked, and full of unused bus lanes and cycle lanes. It’s a much more pleasant experience to visit the many other towns in the area where ample parking is often free.
The general messages here are: Let’s have more cars. Let’s have more pollution. Let’s get stuck in more traffic. Let’s have more 40°C+ days across Europe, Let’s have more forest fires. Let’s have more rising sea levels (Bristol isn’t much above sea level) etc. etc. Councils need to get us out of our polluting vehicles into zero emission mass transport and create better facilities for cycles etc. The only idiots are the ones who deny climate change.
The general message here is that the town planning and blinkered thinking is the cause of this so called pollution… Think about it. The council will let you drive into their areas with your polluting vehicle thats apparently killing us all only if you pay them money for the privilege…. so, lets all go and buy a council licence to kill….
Are is it all bull!!!!
coughsplutter, (good ID), given that humans produce more emissions than transport (think buildings, social needs, clothing, food, waste, heating; surely it is more logical to simply ban humans? How many years before environmentalism is an outright attack on humanity?
My scarily accurate estimations suggest 20 years before the environment takes precedence over human life.
And there is the elephant in the room. At last it is aired. Reduce to worlds population. penalise people for having large families and push for reducing populations as a gateway for aid. Not a popular suggestion I know but the last thing the world needs is more people. Get this under way and we do not need to worry about the environmental destruction needed to feed the un-needed billions of extra mouths to feed in coming years.
Not humanity. The people who suffer are poor and die from climate injustice. The surplus people are the polluters with high consumption of carbon. Climate justice is about capitalism not about population.
How come nobody is doing anything about the MAJOR causes of pollution like aircraft,shipping ,trains sat in stations with diesel engines running ,buses & even our wood burning fires & gas heating systems ,oh forgot it is easier to just hit the motorist & hide the rest hoping we will not bother .
CoughSplutter you really need to look at the issue in some detail, I do not deny climate change it is clearly happening!
However I just want to temper the idea that it is all man made
We have only had records for around 150 to 200 years in the life of our planet that is a really small time measurement, indeed there is proof that climate has changed significantly many time over many millennia. the area locally to me known as the peak district national park has evidence that there was a shallow tropical sea covering a large part of what is now known as England this was around 350,000,000 years ago! one piece of evidence is in the roof of Carls Wark Cavern where there is the largest fossilised oyster bed in Europe it is now well above sea level so let us not be fooled by those who say we need to change everything we do including not eating meat in order to save the planet we should be putting more time, effort and resources to protecting the lives and livelihoods of people in vulnerable areas.
Why does the Government and Local Councils keep ignoring the systems that can be fitted to all diesel vehicles that reduce emission’s to proven levels of 0.02. This is way below what petrol vehicle’s are currently at and there is a system designed by a Nottingham man with assistance with an American company that has such a system costing around the £200 mark. This would then solve all the current clean air issues but of course the Government would then have to lose all the extra taxes they level on diesel’s and have to admit there was other alternatives that would have solved the problem. Why also does the press not highlight these systems?? Seems there is no-one out there fighting for the common person regarding un-necessary costs on motoring.
The air we breathe is about the inky thing that was untaxed. It all sounds like method of taxing it now. Do this and watch Bristol City turn to wasteland.
This is all aload of nonsense The air as never been so clean. We do not have the industrys that use to pollute the air . We use to get Fog and Smog, which we don’t get anymore. So the sun we see all day. Then they come up with global warming another aload of rubbish. What about the pollution from the aeroplanes, especially the one who drop Chem- Trails everyday!! The cars are running much cleaner! Instead of running lorry’s up motorways on long journeys why not use goods trains ! Then lorry can pick the good from depot at the other end which will be a shorter journey , and less diesel pollution!
Sid Abbots Bromley Staffordshire
Complete and utter nonsense spewed out by incompetent politicians in dire need of getting a grip on reality. For a start, ban all parents dropping kids off at school – that would decrease pollution by 50% immediately. Second, create park and ride facilities using electric buses for those who wish to shop and carry out business in the city and then recruit a competent planner to organise an efficient flow of traffic around the city without traffic lights every 50 yards. Taxing business vehicles simply raises prices for consumers and drives businesses away, creating unemployment and a ghost town like so many other places in the country. Get a grip on reality and apply some common business sense……
Also, what about recycling ? Sending it to other country to get rid of, which are not getting recycled !! just dumping in on some one else , and polluting there country, which in turn they burn the plastic and pollute the atmosphere which travel round the earth. also dumped into the see. You have to get every country in the world to make a difference . Not a small Island “England”
Ill say it “thank christ I dont live in Bristol”.. Here in Manchester we are run by morons who have, it is quoted used up £164 million of so called “clean air money” to absolutely no effect…
Could Bristol council tell us all… If the air is so polluted by these diesel vehicles and its killing us all… why would it be OK for these vehicles to continue to pollute Bristol and thereby continue to kill people as long as you pay the Council your £100 for the privilege?
I want clean air. I want to drive my car and pretend everyone else is the problem. If in doubt blame them. No one has come up with a decent solution to deliver clean air without negative impact on humanity. Remove the root cause of the pollution. Cull humans so there won’t be anyone to complain. Oh, but not me as I’m special! Damn so is everyone else. Another plan that’s failed.
Access to the Bristol Airport is through the city. This proposal will effect the use of this airport.
No, it’s now quicker to get there via M5 J19 even if coming from M4 east.
Over the past 5/10 years I have been slowly losing the will to live in terms of observing BCC’s ‘war’ against private motorists.
By turning short cuts into one way (the wrong way) systems, widening pavements so that 2 lanes drop to one very congested lane, creating more bus lanes for the cavalcade of diesel buses, dropping the max speed limit to 20mph , and installing extra sets of pedestrian crossings at every opportunity, the Council have gradually caused a gridlocked city center, which in turn has multiplied exhaust fume pollution 10 fold!
How come the BCC then appear surprised when they fail to hit Government imposed clean air targets, surely its not rocket science?
I was brought up in Bristol from 1946, but have not lived in the city for many years now, having moved to about 20 miles away. In all those years, past & present, the council in all aspects has been totally incompetent. I very rarely venture into Bristol these days, but when I have done, it’s exactly as you have written Jim, chaos. The observations that you’ve made are completely spot on. As for bus lanes, for years now they have had one from the Three Lamps to Temple Meads station which is a 24 hour bus lane, yes you heard right, a 24 hour bus lane, WHY? All I can say is, good luck with trying to catch a bus at 2.00 am, you’ll have one hell of a wait. This is just one example of the mentality of the people who are responsible for traffic planning. The lunatics really are running the asylum.
I missed the traffic congestion by Temple Meads at 2am? When did that happen?
The bus lanes, and cycle lanes, are absolutely positive. Charging poorer people for using a diesel is evil.
I was born in Bristol in 1946 and I agree with everything you have said the BCC are brain dead .The Gloucester Road is a nightmare as is all the roads leading into the centre of Bristol .80% of planning applications over the last five years were for student accommodation and upmarket flats.The Bristolians have been treated badly.Wake up BCC get rid of half the pedestrian crossings and do away with 20 mph except around schools
Exactly the same as LCC they have done exactly the same thing yet they are building more yuppie flats and students accommodation, putting more pressure on the city centre big shopping centres but no real plans to get people into those areas to shop, a park and ride such as a York has would be better option cutting the amount of cars into the centre, I haven’t been into LEEDS centre for years for that reason it’s a nightmare now, I prefer to go out of the city to the outskirts easier to shop & shop, it seems like it’s all about money to many of these councils…
RIDICULOUS…. There seems to be a concerted effort in the UK, to cause inconvenience, grind traffic almost to a halt and increase living costs for motorists and transport alike, not just directly but indirectly. The longer it takes to deliver goods and the more it costs, results in increased costs for everybody.
Instead of getting the country moving, by building a better infrastructure, we are doing the opposite.
Vic Morris
Yay! Build more roads, buy more stuff!!
Both solutions are disastrous – just target hoop jumping. The solution to all of this is long term by encouraging or legislating for cleaner new vehicles which then drip down the market for everyone. There isn’t the immediate need to make this change, except for the targets.
According to council info, the pollution is now no worse than in 2000 and appear to have dropped by approx a third since 2009.
From 2009 to 2016 in Bristol, cycling increased by 80%, bus use by over 30%, rail use by nearly 60%, car use by 2 or 3%
Bristol congestion is less than it was, the problems being mainly rush hour ones. The short term solution there is improving the Park and Ride services, and adding more on all entries to the city – seems there’s at least two places missing, M32 and Filton, both easily able to be done. Another idea is to have smaller Park and Rides closer to the city centre, eg around the Fishponds Road, and turning part of the Downs into a park and ride – loss of some grass area (not a problem on balance) in exchange for cleaner air.
Given that there are health costs associated with the pollution, why not fund some of the improvements needed from an increased gov health budget. That would in theory pay back, win win.
By the way, I see that there is good info suggesting 20mph limits do not increase pollution – less accelerating being the prime benefit along with smoother flow of traffic.
Link to the stats I used:
https://www.bristol.gov.uk/documents/20182/32675/Bristol+City+Council+2018+Air+Quality+Annual+Status+Report+ASR/3d5c287b-f379-e484-7924-2aa02fc8bb0a
Knowing Bristol like I have for the last 72 years, I wouldn’t trust any statistics that the council have manufactured.
Fair enough, though these stats support the idea that things are moving in the right direction anyway. They don’t support the need for the drastic changes suggested, except that they have stupid targets to meet.
I for one will stop delivering into Bristol if these charges come into effect, how will shops get their goods then? It will become a ghost town.
Having worked for a company with a regional office in Bristol ( thankfully now left) I sympathise with motororists and pedestrians in Bristol .Travelling from Portsmouth to Bristol would take 1.5 hours roughly but then would take another hour to travel 2 miles from the end of the M32 to our office- for me the whole journey seemed unnecessary with a video conference call being a far more sensible solution being more productive of our time and causing less pollution however the big chiefs new better!Bristol is apparently one of those places where people and of course the ever growing student population is attracted to but it can not sustain the disruption with building and subsequent civil works required for infrastructure so my belief is that the city now needs to scale back and find a better integrated transport system that can handle its current situation.
Real planning. What a novel idea!
Bristol has just spent thousands on road works, ban the car, that’ll not pay for them!
Ummmm having the M5 and M4 ? Doesn’t help does it ! Regardless of what you do these two things will impact air quality locally you can introduce what london has lower emissions car n van only.. but then how you going to get food n supplies to businesses as this would affect them too.I was following a van 2011 puffing out black smoke so a few hundred of these will bring air quality down not to mention lorries n building material transport too.
The M4 and M5 aren’t that close, and the average prevailing SW wind tends to take that motorway pollution away from the city centre where the air quality tends to be worst.
Why stupid idiots are in the council? They have no idea about the everyday life. They only waste taxpayers money.
I am a 76 year old with a diesel car, bought before the new thinking, living 8 miles from the out of town shops, with the local bus service now recently cut as too expensive. I have walking problems with a hip that needs replacing. How does anyone suggest that I should exist? Sensible answers on a post card.
Sounds like an excellent idea. Deliveries can be outside the 8-hour ban time. Shopping, living, work and leisure will be more enjoyable without traffic fumes & congestion. Most short journeys can be made by walking, cycling and public transport. Driving is not a divine right and climate change is real.
Yes I do have a car, but use it less and less.
Letting a car idle is highly polluting – just don’t do it.
The last two occasions I have gone to Bristol airport from Wales I have been diverted through the city centre perhaps the council should stop diverting traffic through the city centre
What a joke, This would mean that tradesmen & delivery drivers being unable to enter the city having a devastating effect on businesses there.
I’m all for tackling pollution, but vehicles always seem an easy target. Central heating boilers in every home in Bristol probably causes as much pollution.
They really shouldn’t be allowed to waste taxpayers money to the tune of 4 high end CT Scanners to arrive at two ridiculous plans that will effectively make general public indirectly pay for cleaner air.
Leeds City Council have brought in cycle lanes narrowing roads to one lane( which the majority of cyclists don’t tent to use), putting in bus lanes making a single lane for other traffic and traffic lights every 20 yards in city centre, now they are going to put a bus lane in an already narrow road which will increase pollution to the residents who live in the area despite their protests, some areas the roads are so narrow that emergency vehicles are finding it extremely difficult to get through, standing traffic has become a problem, not everyone has a car which stops the engine whilst waiting, and some of the councils seem to forget that the citizens are paying ‘them’ not the other way round, I wonder how many councillors travel to work by cycle not many I’m sure, they just see the motorist as a cash cow.
What everyone is missing here is electric cars are not as polluting whilst they are here, but big BUT. they are more polluting to make. Just the battery itself costs more in pollution than a full petrol/ diesel car but that doesn’t matter because the batteries ain’t made here. The idiots at downing street know this and spent millions finding this out but because the consultation came back unfavourable they neglect to tell us. So long as there green when there running nothing else matters. Read study. Can be found online. If transport to city centres was cheaper people would use it more. I work in leeds. Cost me and partner £22 a day on train to go 12 miles. And have to stand squashed like a sardine for pleasure. £6 a day to park car. It’s ok for idiots to come up with brainless ideas like they do but are they going to spend billions to build new hospitals out of town. It’s not about the environment it’s about revenue dont be fooled.
Air pollution? When I was a kid we had smog regularly esp in winter and had to wear scarves/hankies over our faces. What are after pure oxygen to breathe. Ban all traffic. Motor vehicles, planes trains and in Bristol for example Ships. Pure fresh air. No food supplies but we can live on fresh air.😁
What planet are the council on. Do they want to distroy the business of trade and shops.
I bet the people on the council don’t drive.
I think this proposal is an excellent idea. It will encourage more people to walk and cycle and we will all be able to breath cleaner air.
I appreciate the challenges for business but these can be overcome with exemptions and there could be certain times of day when deliveries are allowed etc.
A huge number of unnecessary car journeys less than a mile are made because people don’t feel safe walking, cycling or letting their kids walk/cycle because of all the traffic. It’s crazy.
We have an obesity epidemic in this country. People need to move more and spend less time sitting in cars that pump out polluting gases. Many of us would benefit from the extra activity and who knows might even enjoy getting out of cars for a change! Give it a go!
Until we see where the zones will be exactly I want to reserve judgement. However, having it around A+E seems nuts. No one chooses to be sick or injured and getting slapped with a charge if you happen to fall ill in hours seems unreasonable. It’s a shame that the A+E is within the BRI grounds 😕
I suggest that BCC simply gives grants to all shops and businesses within the targeted zone to cover their re-settlement costs to re-site their businesses in areas outside the zone. This would people wanting to do business with those companies/shops etc would not have to enter the zone, which should have the effect of improving the air quality within the zone.
The city will die how do you get people or deliveries into the centre !!!
There are too many cars using the roads today so if motorists will not cut down on vehicle use voluntary they will have to be made to by these sort of measures Do you really need to go everywhere in your car ?? too lazy to walk even a short distance .Walking causes no pollution or congestion on the streets and roads in towns and cities THINK for once !!
Bristol is making a knee jerk reaction to a problem they have know about for years. How much improvement would have been achieved had the proposed Metro-West scheme proceeded along with electrification?