Plans to tackle air pollution hotspots and introduce a no-idling zone throughout London are included in the mayor’s air quality strategy, which has gone out to consultation.

Boris Johnson has pledged to take action at locations most at risk of not meeting the extended 2011 deadline for EU limit values for PM10.

These include Marylebone Road, Euston Road, Marble Arch and Hyde Park Corner. Potential solutions to reduce PM10 by 10 to 20% include power washing the roads to remove harmful particulates from traffic; applying dust suppressants on road surfaces; changes to signal timings to smooth the flow of traffic; and planting green walls and trees to absorb particulates.

The mayor will also work with boroughs to identify other areas with poor air quality – but not at risk of exceeding EU limit values – and will encourage action in their local implementation plans.

He proposes a no-idling zone throughout London by increasing the £20 penalty charge to £120 – bringing it in line with penalty charges for other parking offences in the capital.

The mayor also confirmed the low emission zone would be extended to include the most polluting larger vans and minibuses from January 2012.
This was initially due to begin in October 2010, but Mr Johnson decided to suspend the extension last year.
The mayor is in discussions with London Councils on how the London lorry control scheme could be used to incentivise a cleaner ‘London lorry’ standard which will deliver substantial improvements in freight emissions.

Elsewhere, plans to remove the western extension zone of the congestion charging scheme are subject to public and stakeholder consultation on a variation order.

But Mike Tuffrey, leader of the London Assembly Liberal Democrat group, said the mayor was more interested in ‘showing that EU limit values are not a problem’, rather than taking bold measures.
‘After two years in office, the present mayor has failed to take action and has even delayed measures to tackle highly-polluting vans. Even now, this proposed strategy does not target the pollution hotspots in inner London and around Heathrow Airport.’

 Clearing the air
: http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Mayor%27s %20Draft%20Air%20Quality%20Strategy.pdf