Islington's Transport Strategy and Local ... - Islington Council

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Islington’s Transport Strategy Local Implementation Plan 2011 to 2031 2.82 Air pollution is particularly harmful to the most vulnerable members of society – young children, elderly people and those with underlying health problems. It also has adverse impacts on the built environment and biodiversity. Islington council’s ‘Further Assessment of Air Quality in Islington’ has shown that of all the local sources of air pollution, road traffic is the single most important. It is estimated that about 44% of NO X emissions and 72% of PM 10 emissions from within Islington come from road traffic. 2.83 Islington’s review and assessment of air quality undertaken as part of the development of the borough’s Air Quality Action Plan identified two pollutants, PM 10 particles and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), as exceeding or being likely to exceed the objectives of the UK Air Quality Strategy (2007). This is of concern, as when PM 10 exists at high levels, it is associated with a range of effects on health, including effects on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, asthma and mortality. Nitrogen dioxide at relatively high concentrations causes inflammation of the airways, and there is also evidence to show that long-term exposure may affect lung function. 2.84 Islington’s 2010 Air Quality Progress Report indicates that, like most inner London boroughs, the annual mean air quality objective for nitrogen dioxide was exceeded at Islington’s roadside monitoring locations and close to the annual mean air quality objective in background locations. This continues the trend for air quality in Islington, with the annual mean nitrogen dioxide objective at the roadside having been exceeded in previous years. Figure 14 shows that this is consistent with most of central and much of inner London. The objective for PM 10 concentrations at roadside locations in Islington were met, but concentrations will continue to be monitored. Figure 14: Nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) concentrations across Greater London Source: Greater London Authority (2009) London Borough of Islington 38 March 2012
Islington’s Transport Strategy Local Implementation Plan 2011 to 2031 2.85 Road traffic makes a major contribution to noise, vibration and air pollution, which leads to disproportionate social and health impacts on Islington’s more deprived communities who are more likely to live closer to major traffic corridors. Islington’s Air Quality Action Plan and this Transport Strategy aim to tackle the negative effects of the transport network on the health of Islington residents by implementing measures to both reduce the pollution emitted from vehicles on borough roads, and to reduce the amount of traffic on the roads. 2.86 The council has addressed the noise, vibration and air pollution caused by road traffic through road maintenance and reducing speed limits. Islington has a 20mph speed limit on all residential streets and will extend this speed limit to borough-controlled principal roads – subject to funding and Traffic Management Orders, which will help make the borough’s roads safer and will reduce the noise and vibration caused by road traffic, as well as the emissions from vehicles. In some cases, access to certain areas for heavy goods vehicles has been restricted to minimise specific localised noise, vibration and air pollution impacts. 2.87 In terms of the global environment, extreme weather and flooding are just two of the anticipated effects of climate change. These effects alone could have a major impact on the transport network and its operation in the coming decades. Extreme temperatures adversely impact on the condition of the road and rail networks, leading to delays, closures and increased maintenance costs. Increased risk of flooding, for instance, requires increased investment in drainage systems. For these reasons, even when looking at the transport network in isolation, it is important that the council works to reduce CO 2 emissions, while also adapting to the likely impacts of global climate change. 2.88 The transport network is a major contributor to carbon emissions, in particular carbon dioxide. The Islington Carbon Baseline Study (2007) estimated that the transport sector in Islington was responsible for the emission of 156,852 tonnes of CO 2 in 2005. This figure represented 14% of the borough’s overall CO 2 emissions. Reducing the transport sector’s contribution to CO 2 emissions will require a continued move away from current private vehicle reliance towards cleaner forms of travel such as walking and cycling. London Borough of Islington 39 March 2012
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