It is clear from the letters sent to last week’s Islington Tribune that local people in Islington are not only very concerned to hear that deaths due to air pollution are increasing, but can see for themselves that the Council is fundamentally wrong in saying nothing more can be done in the Borough.
Caroline Allen, a local campaigner and London candidate for the European elections in 2014, said: “Greens have long been pushing for action both locally and London wide. At no point have we refused to work with the Council in asking for action from the Mayor. We would be very happy to work with them and share our experiences so far.”
Caroline Russell, who along with Caroline Allen won the Clean Air in London award last year, said: “We genuinely thought that Labour Councillors in Islington had moved on in understanding this issue since the last Environment Executive Member called air pollution campaigners ‘sad people with nothing better to do’!
“However, the council still fails to grasp what can be done at a local level. Here are just a few suggestions:
• Stop encouraging short journeys, by ditching ‘roamer’ parking
• Prioritise cycle parking, instead of increasing short stay parking spaces
• Work with local businesses to encourage clients to travel on foot and by bike – they spend more anyway
• Work with Arsenal to renegotiate their travel plan; it’s clearly not working
• Strengthen rules on car free developments and use planning policy more widely to encourage walking and cycling
• Plant trees, enforce vehicle idling restrictions and value our streets as places for people not just for vehicles
Caroline Allen added: “That the council can’t see beyond shifting the blame for air pollution, and are saying ‘we have to be realistic about what we can achieve alone’ is a serious dereliction of duty. It isn’t Greens playing party politics, we know this is much, much more serious than that. These new figures confirm it is a matter of life and death.”