A DRASTIC plan to reduce toxic air pollution in Coventry is set to be approved by Coventry City Council – and could see major disruption on roads.
Coventry was named as one of 22 towns and cities within the UK where Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) levels are forecast to exceed legal limits by next year.
And the ring road, Holyhead Road, Walsgrave Road, Binley Road and London Road are all set to exceed the EU’s safe limit value of 40 micrograms per cubic metre by 2021.
The government is demanding the city brings its air quality within safe limits as quickly as possible or it could enforce a ‘clean air zone’ – where polluting vehicles are charged for access to certain areas of the city.
The council’s detailed Local Air Quality Action Plan includes plans to introduce 100 clean air buses, an update to the taxi fleet and road infrastructure.
A cabinet meeting Tuesday (February 12) is set to approve submitting the plan to government.
The council will seek around £80million from the government’s Clean Air Fund and Implementation Plan fund to introduce the measures over a 10-year period.
One of the most controversial plans is the potential closure of the Coundon Road at the level crossing – a major artery into the city.
The council officer’s report states this will benefit pedestrians, cyclists and public transport services – including more reliable rail services.
There would also be peak-time traffic restrictions on Holyhead Road between the railway bridge and the ring road junction, the report says.
Spon End would also see improvements to road capacity and routes for pedestrians and cyclists to reduce congestion.
A more extensive cycle network could also be created with major new bike lanes from the city centre to the outskirts of the Coventry.
The capacity of the ring road junction 7 will also be improved to accommodate the increasing number of pedestrians and cyclists, allowing easy access to the city centre, the report states.
A grant has also been secured to install 39 electric charging ports across the city centre to accommodate the city’s electric taxi fleet.
It will also see 140 ports installed across residential areas costing £300,000 to encourage electric car ownership, the report adds.
The A4600 is one of the city’s main bottlenecks and to ease pollution the council will upgrade traffic lights and reduce the width of the bus border near the Brays and Clay Lane junction – as well as implement new traffic lights on the Brays Lane, Binley Road junction.
These changes would improve traffic flow, the report states.
A £1.5million plan for National Express to fit its older buses with new lower emissions engines is also dependent on the success of the council’s bid.
The council officer’s report states: “All options were assessed against a benchmark scenario involving the establishment of Clean Air Zones (CAZs) where non-compliant vehicles are charged for access to defined areas.”
