London

Protected Cycle Paths Doubled Since London Mayor Took Office

28 May 2019 From Paul Münzner Filed Under: 2019, Cycling, Featured

London, United Kingdom – Mayor Sadiq Khan of London confirms that three years after he took office in 2016, the number of protected cycling infrastructure built within the capital has since doubled. Mayor Khan describes it as a significant delivery breakthrough in allowing more cycling in the city.

Cycle Paths Doubled From 53 km to 116 km

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During the London Walking & Cycling Conference, held this month at the Guildhall, the Mayor gave a keynote address where he confirms that the completed or still under construction protected cycle paths in London is around 116 km. This number is a massive increase compared to the 53 km of protected cycle infrastructures that were already set in place three years ago before he came into office.

In a speech he gave in front of the principal policymakers, Mayor Khan said that the cycling infrastructure improvement can be tagged as a “Tale of Two Cities.” He also commended the councils such as Camden, Hackney, Waltham Forest, and Enfield, as well as the City of London Corporation for their work in creating a high-quality framework for walking and cycling. On the other hand, he criticized Westminster and other boroughs for maintaining their status quo which he says is hurting the health and well-being of Londoners.

According to the Mayor, thanks to the boroughs supporting him, he is right on track in meeting the promise he made to the London Cycling Campaign in increasing the number of protected areas produced for cycling throughout London by May of 2020. His main aim is to improve the air quality of the city while tackling the inactivity crisis.

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The Mayor also gives emphasis to his pledge to the latest quality criteria of TFL ensuring that TFL will only fund and build new routes that are top-notch. This coincides with the confirmation regarding TFL moving away from the branding of Superhighway and Quietway to new high-quality cycleways, which are routes designed for cyclists of any walks of life, age, and ability.

Despite receiving pressures on the “Healthy Streets” budget, Mayor Khan raised its funding in the last business plan of TFL to over £2.3 billion.

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“I want to now deliver even more high-quality cycling and walking infrastructure across all parts of the capital, but even with record investment from the TfL we can’t achieve that on our own. Boroughs across London must recognise the huge benefits of getting more people out of their cars and cycling as part of their everyday routine – getting more people active, improving their health, and reducing the air pollution on our streets which causes so much harm,” says Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London.

“The Mayor and TfL are to be applauded for having doubled the provision of protected space for cycling on main roads, meaning they need to build 43km more in order to fulfil his pledge to our members and all Londoners to triple the mileage of protected space by the next election. With less than a year to go, it’s vitally important they, and particularly the boroughs, pull out all the stops to deliver the cycling network Londoners deserve and need to ensure the city can keep moving sustainably and healthily,” says Fran Graham, Campaigns Coordinator, London Cycling Campaign.

London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone Already Bearing Fruits

On average, 9,400 fewer uncompliant polluting vehicles per day

20 May 2019 From Paul Münzner Filed Under: 2019, Featured, Transport

The world’s first Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) with the most stringent emission standards has been introduced 8 April 2019 in central London – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As London’s poor air quality causes a high level of damage to people’s health, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has taken a range of measures to reduce this health risk and therefore the causing costs of £3.7 billion every year. London’s ULEZ is one of these measures. Non-compliant cars, which don’t meet Euro 6 standards, have to pay £12.50 a day if they enter the ULEZ – lorries, buses and coaches even £100 a day.

Reduction of about 20 percent in NO₂ since February 2017

The results are already clear to see as a report unveils. 9,400 fewer uncompliant, older, very polluting vehicles on an average day enter the zone. 71 percent of all entering vehicles during congestion charging hours (7 am – 6 pm) comply with the required emission standards compared to 39 percent in February 2017 or 61 percent in March 2019. More and more people shift to cleaner or emission-free means of transport such as cycling and public transport or walking.

Date	Number of vehicles driving in the charging zone per day during CC hours			Proportions of vehicles driving in the charging zone during CC hours
Date	Total number of vehicles	Non-compliant vehicles	Compliant vehicles	Non-compliant vehicles	Compliant vehicles
Feb – 17	102,493	62,310	40,184	60.8%	39.2%
Apr – 19	89,380	26,195	63,185	29.3%	70.7%
Change	-13,113	-36,115	23,001	Decrease of 31.5 percentage points	Increase of 31.5 percentage points
% change	-12.8%	-58.0%	57.2%	-51.8%	80.3%

Average number and proportion of compliant vehicles detected in the zone per “typical” day during CC hours 17 February – 19 April

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“Today’s report shows how bold action reaps rewards – just one month after launching the world’s first ULEZ, leading the way for cities around the globe, we have already seen a significant impact on the types of vehicles driving in the centre of our capital and polluting our air. These were big changes, and vital ones – our toxic air is an invisible killer responsible for one of the biggest national health emergencies of our generation,” the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, says. “It’s early days, but it’s great to see Londoners and businesses are doing their bit to make a difference, with nearly three quarters of the vehicles driving into central London each day now meeting the standards required to turn around this public health crisis. It’s vital this compliance is sustained to truly make a difference to our air quality, and as time goes on we will publish more research into the impact of the ULEZ, progressing this ground-breaking, life-saving work even further.”

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Alex Williams, Transport for London’s Director of City Planning, said: “Everyone benefits from clean air, which is why it is great to see that so many people have responded to the Ultra-Low Emission Zone, which has resulted in a reduction in the number of polluting vehicles in the capital. The ULEZ will nearly halve road-based NOx emissions in central London, and in addition to our work to green up the bus fleet and encourage the taxi industry to switch to cleaner vehicles, together we will help to tackle this public health crisis.”

BioSolar Leaf Purifies Air to Tackle White Air Pollution in Cities

07 May 2019 From Paul Münzner Filed Under: 2019, Climate, Featured

Arborea, a startup company, and Imperial College London are going to collaborate in the initiation of the development of the technology called “BioSolar Leaf” to enhance the quality of White City’s air.

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The innovative technology is the first in the world and has the capability to purify the air by utilizing the photosynthesis process or microscopic plants. Through this process, greenhouse gasses or GHG are removed from our atmosphere while producing breathable air. Arborea, which was established by Julian Melchiorri, has come up with a highly advanced cultivation system which can eliminate carbon dioxide while generating breathable oxygen at the same time. The rate of its breathable air production is equivalent to that of 100 trees from one tree’s surface area.

Professor Neil Alford, Cllr Stephen Cowan, and CEO Julian Melchiorri - Biosolar Leaf — Arborea, I-Hub White City. LtoR Prof Neil Alford(Imperial), Cllr Stephen Cowan (LBHF) visit the lab of Arborea 17.4.19 (Arborea, Imperial College London)

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The system also aids small plant-life growth like phytoplankton, microalgae, and diatoms on massive structures that resemble solar panels. These structures can be placed and installed developments such as buildings and lands to improve the air quality surrounding them.

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In addition, the company also obtains nutritious food additives for food products that are plant-based to generate organic biomass with a sustainable source.

While Arborea handles the development, scientists from the Imperial College London will provide them with the resources needed to help in the development of the BioSolar Leaf cultivation system’s outdoor pilot which will be placed on South Site of the White City Campus.

According to the Imperial College London Associate Provost, Professor Neil Alford, the most challenging thing London is facing right now is air pollution. For this reason, Imperial made a commitment to discovering a volatile and sustainable solution for this problem. “Arborea’s BioSolar leaves are set to revolutionize air quality in London and across the world. Our administration is planning to be the first to put them into our borough as we’re determined Hammersmith & Fulham will lead the way in cleaning our filthy air,” said Cllr Stephen Cowan, Leader of London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.

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Biosolar Leaf liquid — (Arborea, Imperial College London)

Arborea team (Arborea, Imperial College London)

With the BioSolar leaves of Arborea, we’ll see a revolution in London’s air quality, as well as across the globe. The latest biotech is a comprehensive and cutting-edge innovation that the biotech hub of White City has ever created. “We are proud to be part of the world-class innovation district that is flourishing at White City and excited about this new collaboration with Imperial. In our ever-growing modern cities, cooperation between start-ups, academic institutions and governmental bodies is critical to enable and accelerate sustainable innovation that benefits both our society and environment,” said Julian Melchiorri, Founder and CEO of Arborea.

In the best-case scenario, this masterplan is a game changer. It can lead to more sustainable solutions that can potentially change the environmental issues not just in West London, but the whole of the UK and the world.

London Air Pollution Responsible for About 1,000 Hospital Cases Every Year

Asthma attacks are the leading cause of children needing hospital treatment in the UK

09 April 2019 From Paul Münzner Filed Under: 2019, Climate, Featured

By means of a study, researchers from King’s College London and Imperial College London report that about 1,000 London citizens every year are hospitalized as a direct result of air pollution. Those suffering from respiratory conditions like Asthma and COPD are at risk, and about 25 percent of the hospitalizations are reported to involve children under the age of fourteen who are asthma sufferers. Older citizens living with lung conditions like COPD were also shown to be a high-risk group, particularly among those over the age of 65.

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In addition, the researchers point out that Asthma attacks are the leading cause of children needing hospital treatment in the UK, and that air pollution could be triggering as many as 10 percent of the cases requiring hospitalization of children. The report highlights air pollution in London as a health crisis that is causing permanent damage to children’s lung development and that is estimated to cost the capital billions per year.

The research was sponsored by London Mayor Sadiq Kahn, who hopes to draw attention to city air quality problems and who is responsible for the city’s new Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) which was inaugurated in April. There are also plans to keep the public informed of air pollution hazards with signage in public places alerting commuters to air pollution forecasts.

“As someone who developed adult-onset asthma over the last few years, I know from personal experience that London’s toxic air is damaging people’s health,” the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said. “This study is a stark reminder that air pollution disproportionately affects the most vulnerable Londoners and I’m doing everything in my power to protect children, the elderly and those with respiratory conditions from our filthy air. That’s why next week I’ll be launching the world’s first 24-hour seven-day-a-week Ultra Low Emission Zone in the central London Congestion Charge zone, which will help clean our air and reduce harmful road transport emissions in central London by an estimated 45 percent.”

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The ULEZ will require much lower emissions from vehicles entering it and additional measures will include the introduction of Low Emissions Bus Zones as well as additional strategies like providing electric charging stations for cars. Collectively, these interventions are believed to be capable of reducing Central London emissions by 45 percent.

Air quality at schools enjoys a focus in the plan after a finding that 451 London Schools were located in areas where pollution reached levels that could be classified as toxic. Supporters of the ULEZ say that its implementation will directly affect these schools, bringing pollution down to “acceptable” levels. The city as a whole, they say, will fall within legal pollution limits for the first time since they were set.

Dr. Penny Woods, Chief Executive of the British Lung Foundation, said: “It’s important to note not everyone who is affected by air pollution ends up in hospital – thousands with conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease will avoid leaving the house because the air makes it that much harder to breathe. This isn’t fair, and it’s not right. We need to see tough measure put in place to make the air safe for Londoners – and everyone across the UK – to breathe.”

Drivers Will Be Instructed to Turn Their Engines Off In London

During such episodes drivers will be instructed to turn their engines off when stationary in order to reduce emissions

27 March 2019 From Paul Münzner Filed Under: 2019, Featured

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is taking tough measures to tackle London’s air quality crisis, and believes it’s important that Londoners are made aware of episodes of high pollution levels. Since his election in 2016, Khan has implemented an alert system that makes use of roadside message signs alongside London’s busiest roads, electronic updates at underground stations as well as social media and text alerts.

During such episodes drivers will be instructed to turn their engines off when stationary in order to reduce emissions.

The most recent high pollution alert was on the 26th of February 2019. This episode was deemed to be due to local emissions being poorly dispersed, combined with an influx of particulates from France and Germany.

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Alerts are issued according to the air quality index, a system recommended by the government’s Committee on Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP), and which communicates air pollution levels according to an index of 1(low) to 10 (high).

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This was the tenth time that the alert system has been used since Khan became mayor, with the previous recorded high pollution event in London having been on the 25th of July 2018.

The world’s first Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) will be launched in central London in April, and is projected to reduce emissions by 45 percent. The Mayor has launched scrappage schemes that will phase out polluting vans and minibuses, scrap polluting cars and clean up the city’s bus and taxi fleets. A national scrappage scheme will target cities across the UK and Khan has called on government to assist with funding.

COMEAP advises that people with lung or heart disorders and the elderly should avoid strenuous physical activity during episodes of high pollution, especially outdoors. Even when the borough average reflects low to moderate levels, levels adjacent to busy roads will often be higher, presenting a greater likelihood of exposure to pollutants.