Air-Quality

We often hear these claims, but very rarely are they backed up by evidence. Normally they’re just stated, like in the two examples above. I went looking for the evidence and this is what I found. The basic premise is that vehicles speeding up and slowing down produces more emissions than vehicles travelling at a constant speed (smoother traffic flow), that it will take each vehicle longer to travel through an area, therefore increased emissions. This argument is used to argue against speed bumps, traffic lights, lower speed limits and 20mph zones, and is used in favour of schemes to reduce congestion. ...

The annual Sheffield public health report has been published and this year the focus is on Climate Change. All of the topics in the report impact both public heath and climate change. Climate change is the defining public health issue of this century. I’m very happy that such an important issue is right at the top of the public health agenda in Sheffield. There are however links between present public health problems and the kind of steps we have to take to tackle climate change. Many of the things we need to do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will benefit our health in the short term, too. We describe some of those things. ...

Sheffield City Council’s response to the DfT consultation goes against officially stated council policy of supporting lower speed limits on the M1. Their opposition to lower speed limits cited concerns about the economic impact, public reaction, enforcement and investor perception of Sheffield. We have air quality problems in Sheffield. We have an air quality action plan that calls out the M1 double decker viaduct as a problem. The area around the M1 is called Tinsley and the air quality is notoriously bad and breaches EU limits for NO2 for most of the year. ...