March 9, 2020
Abby Nuttall
Electric and Hybrid News
With the government planning to have the UK as zero emission country by 2050 local governments have been putting in place plans to reduce their city centre emissions.
You might have seen our recent posts on Oxford, Birmingham, Nottingham, Cardiff and Bath and their plans to reduce emissions.
Not only do these plans reduce the country’s overall emissions and help achieve the national targets for reduction, but they also improve air quality in the cities they’re implemented in.
You can see a full map of the proposed Clean Air Zones and other methods on the BVRLA’s website.
The latest two cities to announce plans are Coventry and Glasgow. You can read the full details for both cities below.
Coventry City Confirm No Clean Air Zone
The government has written to Coventry City Council in support of their proposal to reduce Nitrogen Dioxide emissions through a number of measures.
This letter of support means that the city will not need to put in place a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) like many other cities like Bath and Bristol are rolling out.
Coventry decided to try and find alternatives to a CAZ area as these zones penalise higher emission vehicles, like commercial vehicles and HGVs. Modelling that the council had completed showed that these were not the main issue in their city and so they felt that a CAZ would have been unfair.
The council has been working closely with the government’s Joint Air Quality Unit throughout the process.
The measures include highway engineering, improved traffic management, cycle routes, travel planning, upgrading the city’s bus fleet, supporting a shift to electric taxis and encouraging the uptake of electric vehicles more generally through the installation of more charging points.
Coventry City Council must now submit a final full business case by the 19th of June to provide further details on the proposed scheme to reduce nitrogen dioxide emissions.
Ahead of this deadline the council plans to hold further discussions with residents on the measures they are proposing to put in place.
You can see a full list of the specific measures the council is planning on their website.
The city will also take part in a Transport for West Midlands pilot project for mobility credits. This means that drivers in Coventry could be paid to scrap their cars and receive credits to spend using a smartphone app or swift travel card, for public transport, taxis, bike shares or a car club.
This scheme is due to be trialled in Coventry next year and if successful could be rolled out across the region.
Glasgow Low Emission Zone
Glasgow City Council are now consulting on proposals to extend its current Low Emission Zone (LEZ) so that it applies to all vehicles driving through the city centre, including private vehicles.
The first phase of the LEZ was introduced in 2018. This was Scotland’s first Low Emission Zone and was implemented due to the high levels of recorded nitrogen dioxide emissions in the city centre.
Although the current emission standards only impact the local buses at the minute the council plans to include all vehicles in the second phase, including private cars.
If approved the new proposal will be in place from the 31st of December 2022.
Currently seeking views via online consultation, Glasgow City Council are open to feedback from the public on the proposal. The Consultation will end on the 29th of March.
They are looking for feedback on how they should implement the second phase, the proposed boundaries of the LEZ, enforcement dates and temporary local exemptions.
If you live or work in the city centre the council would also like to hear about how the LEZ could affect your future transport choices.
In addition to the LEZ the city council are working on a number of different strategies to encourage higher levels of active travel, improve the public transport standards and reduce reliance on private vehicles.