Environment, transport and clean air

I agree with all the comments posted. We need action on air pollution! It is killing us! How much more serious can this be? Act now!

I agree with most posters here who insist that the Mayor's plans are inadequate. We need a much more ambitious plan to cut pollution and CO2; increase trees and vegetation and encourage healthier life styles.

BUT THIS IS HARDLY THE ISSUE! We are all just making comments on a website in isolation with no power to make any change.

We need the Mayor to set up a Citizens' Assembly where we can discuss the issues, come to conclusions and enforce the outcomes.

Air pollution is killing Londoners. We are 25 times more likely to be killed by air pollution-related diseases than by traffic accidents. Toxic particle levels in the air are consistently and drastically way over they environmental standards for toxic air set by the world health organisation. The only reason this isn’t a bigger issue is because it’s invisible killer. You need to take more serious action on this

Diesel cars should not be allowed in London. There should be an increase in charges for heavier lorries/SUVs.

More cycle lanes that are separated from the road

Set up schemes/incentives to encourage children to cycle/walk to school

Dramatically increase the road tax on SUVs. Having these on the road discourages cyclists and is polluting the air we breathe.

1. imperative to remove the diesel black cabs from the road and replace with all electric fleet

2. accelerate the bus electification schedule

3. aggressive public campaign needed to reduce waste and increase recycling so more are encouraged to take seriously

4. protect current green spaces and increase these spaces throughout the city

5. sharply increase road tax or usage charges for heavier and dirtier vehicles ie SUV who are hard wearing on roads and polluting

The congestion in London is terrible. The roads are clogged up with cars doing unnecessary journeys. The cycle superhighways are not utilised for most of the day. Coaches bringing tourists to London are unable to park & have to drive around for ages looking for somewhere to park.

Why not make the Embankment cycle superhighway time dependent, like some bus lanes? For instance, from 07.00 to 10.00 (or evern 10.30) they should be cycles only. From 10.00 to 14.00 (or even 13.30) they could go back to being coach bays. From 14.00 to 19.00 cycle bays & then again in the evening, they could be coach bays. The vast majority of tourist coaches are in London from about 10.30-11.00 to 13.30-14.00 if bringing school groups to the museums/galleries. For evening theatre they are there from about 19.00 to about 22.00. By doing this, the coaches would not be driving around in slow moving traffic, contributing to pollution & would have somewhere to park. The underutilised space of the cycle lane would be properly utilised & the coach operators & drivers might have more reason to not boycott London. If the bays were properly "policed" re charging, then there would be an income stream too. Coaches bringing people to matinees would not benefit from this.

Coaches bring large numbers of people to London, along with their money.

Getting the coaches parked up during the day without having to drive around for ages would improve the environment, improve the drivers' mental health, allow other vehicles, such as delivery trucks to move more freely around the city. Everyone's a winner. The few cyclists who use these cycle lanes during the day would have to just use the main road, but then I gather that that's what most of them do anyway & the superhighways almost never have bikes in them anyway

Why not do a council tax surchage for owning a vehicle - it could be zero or a discount for an electric car / bike ranging to £100's for a big range rover? There is no excuse for owning a massive car in London. Lets get SUVs off Londons roads!

In the light of the increasing concern about the quality of the air we breathe in London, it is imperative that more resources are made available for completing projects that will improve air quality long term. The proposed Crossrail2 needs to be completed in its entirety in order to take traffic off London's roads. Introducing new pollution thresholds in Central  London alone does not provide a long term solution.

I would like to see additional funds available to make London a cleaner city quicker. It seems that this is acheiveable and also it is a silent and deadly concern for health. It would also make London a quieter and greener place to live. 

ULEZ extension is too soon. Asking 100000 Londoners to scrap or replace vehicles (some <5yrs old) is an environmental mistake and a burden on those who cannot afford new.

as per a comment below stop squeezing traffic lanes have traffic light that react to the traffic conditions and make it that any roadworks get done at night try and get traffic flowing freely to avoid fumes but no one will listen you just want the emissions to keep going up so you can ban cars altogether remember your trafffic planners are going to get old one day and they may need a car to get about. no one drives in london if they dont have to .

More should be done to separate cyclists from traffic. I speak as someone who has experienced life changing injuries from cycling in a designated "quietway" cycling route in London. The only way to make cyclists safe is to separate them from the traffic. If cycling were safer, far more people would do it, reducing air pollution. Improvements to cycling in London have stalled in the last few years.

The climate change reduction and clean air targets are far too modest. A much greater sense of urgency and appropriate budget allocations are required.

ULEZ is just a tax on the poor. They need to use their cars and can not afford to replace them. Forget it, scrap it and enforce better emissions standards on public transport and big business like haulage firms first. 
 

stop putting stupid road restrictions that cause more delays and hence more idling cars running for longer when they are most polluting, make it flow easier and road clearer

You focus almost entirely in persecuting motorists. The WORST pollution (which is probably the source of increased respiratory problems that you complain about) is in the underground by far. What are you doing about that? You try and force ever higher numbers onto that system while creating traffic jams on the roads leading to gridlock and increase pollution. You don't actually  have a strategy, you are just anti-car.

The only way to reduce air pollution from vehicles in London is to restrict access to vehicles on the streets. Driving within zone 1 should be restricted to essential vehicles not commuters or visitors. We need a five-year plan to

1 Reduce parking in zones 1 and 2

2 Increase bus lanes and introduce express buses for commuting times

3 Restrict vehicle access to zone 1 for non essential vehicles

The only way to stop cars is to limit access to roads and parking.